On-call scenario 1: Sources
These sources hopefully sprang to mind:- SmPCs for some of the medicines concerned via the emc
- Injectable Medicines Guide
- Injectable Drug Information (ASHP)
- Your local obstetric prescribing guidelines or protocols
You quickly check your local protocols and are reassured that the magnesium is being given appropriately for eclampsia, and that these antibiotics are safe and recommended in women undergoing caesarean section.
Then you work through your other information resources and find data to suggest that magnesium sulphate and cefuroxime are physically incompatible when mixed at room temperature. There are some compatibility data for mixing metronidazole and magnesium sulphate, but the concentrations don’t quite match what you’ve been asked about and the diluents are different.
Do you need to think about alternative approaches?
Once you've had thinking time, click Next Page, to see our suggestions.