In: Nursing
some medications should not be crashed are
sustained-release tablets should not be crashed because it can be composed of multiple layers for different drug release time. crushing will affect the intended action of the medication.
enteric coated tablets
In these tablets can irritate stomach or can be degraded by stomach acid,so the drug's release can be delayed by enteric- coating until it reaches small intestine.These type of drugs should not be crushed because they could cause an overdose.
medications with objectionable tastes are usually sugar-coated to improve tolerability, if these mdications are crushed the patient would be subjected to its unpleasent taste.
INSTRUCT THE PATIENT ABOUT CRUSHING THEIR MEDICATIONS
- ALWAYS consult a docter before crushing tablets becouse cruhed medications are vary in their absorbtion time and stability.
- if oral solution or suspension is not available , the hospital pharmacy should be consulted to determine the availability of a liquid formation of product.
- Coating of the medication is designed to hold the tablet together in the stomach and to protect the stomach from irritability(because they are designed to release in intestine not in stomach)
examples of cardiac medications that should not be crushed are,
AMPLODIPINE AND ATORVASTATIN
These tablets should swallow - do not break , crush or chew. Take these medications with or without food.
Toprol XL(METAPROLOL) CAN NOT BE CRUSHED it can affect the absorption of medication.