Perioperative Care: Drug Storage and Handling

Study Notes

Correct storage of drugs is essential to maintain their potency and effectiveness.
Muscle relaxants like atracurium require refrigeration to preserve their efficacy and therapeutic benefits.
Efficient organization of drugs is crucial to reduce the risk of administering the wrong drug.

Controlled substances, such as alfentanil and opioids like morphine and fentanyl, must be kept locked in a cupboard and accounted for regularly.
The Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management) Regulations (2013) regulate controlled drug safety, emphasizing self-administration, storage, record keeping, and disposal.
NICE guidelines (2016e) emphasize the need for a thorough check of controlled drug inventory, with at least two individuals present and record of their presence.

Healthcare professionals, including ODPs, must adhere to the 6 R's framework: Right patient, Right drug, Right route, Right dose, Right time, and Right documentation (NICE, 2017).
The 6 R's framework ensures the safe administration of drugs and staff compliance.
Failure to perform these checks may result in harm to the patient and legal consequences for staff.

It is essential to confirm patient allergies before administering drugs.
Patients' full name and date of birth must be confirmed and matched with their wristband.
The patient's hospital number is read aloud to verify their identity.
The ODP and another practitioner check the name, stock strength, and dosage of the drug against the prescription.

Proper handling of medications prevents administering incorrect drugs to patients.
Labelling syringes is crucial to prevent confusion about which drugs are being administered (Association of Anaesthetists, 2021).
Handling drugs with PPE, including gloves, prevents cross-contamination and infections.

Pharmacokinetics is the study of how the body interacts with the drug, including absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
Pharmacodynamics is the study of how the drug physiologically affects the body.
In the scenario, the drugs used were metabolized by the liver and excreted through urine, except for oxygen and sevoflurane, which were excreted by the lungs.