The Benefits And Uses Of Infusion Therapy
Infusion therapy is the administration of physician-prescribed medications through a needle or catheter when a patient cannot be treated effectively by oral routes. Infusion therapy is commonly given to patients with cancer, intense pain, gastrointestinal diseases or disorders, and to those with infections that are unresponsive to oral antibiotics. Other conditions that can be treated by infusion therapy include diabetes, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, hemophilia, high-risk pregnancy, and many other diseases and conditions.
Generally, infusion therapy refers to medications that are administered intravenously but it can also refer to medications administered by other routes such as the following:
- Intramuscular Injections - These injections refer to medication that is injected into the muscles. The most common muscle locations for intramuscular injections include the arms, the legs, and the buttocks.
- Epidural Injections - These injections refer to medication that is injected into the membranes that surround the spinal cord.
Drugs commonly administered by infusion therapy include anesthetics, chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, antivirals, pain medications, and vitamins. Infusion therapy may also include the following:
- Nutritional Support - Nutritional therapy consists of a high calorie and high protein solution administered to patients who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, have trouble swallowing, or who are suffering from malnutrition. Nutritional support can be given intravenously or through a feeding tube directly into the stomach.
- Hydration Support - Hydration therapy is the injection of fluid into the veins. The fluid most commonly given is water with a small amount of salt or sugar. A pump or adjustment valve can be attached to the hydration tube to regulate the amount of fluid entering the vein. The amount of fluid and length of infusion time depends on the severity of dehydration in the patient.
- Blood Products - Blood transfusions are typically given in response to blood loss from acute trauma, a hospital operation, and compromised blood-cell production due to disease. Blood products can be administered at various rates depending on the condition of the patient being treated.
Infusion therapy is always given at the orders of a patient's physician and administered by a registered nurse or nurse assistant. It can be given in a hospital, a patient's home, a senior living facility, or wherever patients are receiving rehabilitation therapy. For many patients, being treated with infusion therapy in a non-hospital setting is much preferred to inpatient care. The comfort and ease of a patient receiving infusion therapy at home can greatly contribute to speedy recovery and healing and should be administered there whenever appropriate and possible. For more information, talk to an infusion professional like Idaho Arthritis Center.
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