Drug Information Handbook for Perioperative Nursing

AORN Journal, July, 2007 by Jeannemarie Hennessey

Drug Information Handbook for Perioperative Nursing AORN and Lexi-Comp, Inc 2006; 2,002 pages $39.95 softcover, Or $79.95 softcover with PDA download

If you have been searching for the perfect medication resource for the perioperative setting, look no further. This comprehensive reference book, which details 677 medications commonly used in the perioperative setting, is an excellent resource for any perioperative professional. Among the authors are an anesthesiologist, four doctors of pharmacy, and two RNs who work in the perioperative arena, in addition to numerous individuals who served on the advisory panel. The result of this collaboration among perioperative professionals is a comprehensive medication handbook that can be used by any professional who practices in a surgical setting.

This handbook is significant to perioperative professionals because, in addition to general information regarding medications, it provides insight about the unique needs of surgical patients. From the moment a patient begins the journey into his or her surgical course of care, a plan is put into motion that accounts for all of the factors that make that patient unique. What procedure is scheduled? What allergies does the patient have? What is the patient's medical history, and what medications is he or she currently taking? Is the patient taking any herbal remedies? Does the patient have postoperative nausea? Is he or she a geriatric patient? This book addresses all of these issues and more.

The introductory text includes AORN's "Guidance statement on safe medication practices in perioperative practice settings." This is a great resource to have at hand to guide perioperative RNs in administering medications in the OR. In the body of the book, the authors address perioperative and anesthesia concerns for medications that require particular attention on the part of the caregiver when they are administered to surgical patients. Toward the end of the book there is a section on "Special topics/concerns" that addresses perioperative patient care considerations such as acute postoperative pain, anesthesia for geriatric patients, considerations for pediatric patients, conscious sedation, and latex allergies. The book includes all of this information and still addresses those items found in traditional nursing medication books (eg, how medications are metabolized, side effects, contraindications).

The main body of the book contains a list of medications arranged alphabetically, making it easy to locate a medication name. I did not need to look up medications in the appendix; it was very easy to just flip pages in the main body until I located the medication I was looking for. I especially liked the fact that when I looked up Lasix, the book indicated that the description of Lasix is located under the heading Furosemide (ie, the generic name for Lasix) and then provided the page number.

I found that I was able to locate in this handbook any medication I encountered in practice. In addition, under each medication heading is a thorough description highlighting up to 40 points of information. Other details I appreciated were that the book gives the pronunciation for each medication, and it provides information on medication safety issues to alert readers about potential errors related to a medication. This handbook was designed with the ultimate goal of patient safety.

This truly is a comprehensive resource, and any perioperative nurse or anesthesia care provider would find it useful. It is a nice size, and I would recommend having it in each OR suite for easy reference. The book is a fantastic resource that no perioperative professional should pass up.

As an addition to the book, an optional download for a personal digital assistant (PDA) is available. The PDA version provides users with mobile access to medication information. It also allows users to download updates made to the Lexi-Comp database for one year; these updates occur several times per week.

This book is available from Lexi-Comp, Inc, 1100 Terex Rd, Hudson, OH 44236.

JEANNEMARIE HENNESSEY

RN, MS, CNS, CNOR

STAFF NURSE

JOHN MUIR MEDICAL CENTER

WALNUT CREEK, CA