Chapter 10

Reconstitution of Powdered Drugs

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 Purpose
• Drugs in powder form retain potency for
only short time once reconstituted
– e.g., ampicillin

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 Key Safety Point
• Reconstitution directions on vial labels are
small and difficult to read, mandating
extreme care in reading them

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Drug Volume After Reconstitution
• Reconstituted volumes do not always
exactly equal amount of diluent because
medication itself has volume
– Makes total volume larger than amount of diluent
injected into vial

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 Reconstitution: Step 1
• Locate directions on label, package insert,
or current parenteral medication reference

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 Diluent Information
• Type of diluent varies for different drugs
– Sterile water used most frequently for parenteral drug
reconstitution
• Volume of diluent varies for different drugs

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 Diluent Information
• If directions given for both IM and IV
reconstitution, be careful to read correct set
for solution being prepared

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 Reconstitution: Step 2
• Once diluent identified, use sterile syringe
and aseptic technique to draw up volume of
diluent required for reconstitution of
specific medication

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 Vial Pressure
• If powdered medication in vial, syringe
plunger forced out to expel air
– Re-equalizes internal vial pressure as diluent injected

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 Reconstitution: Step 3
• After diluent injected, rotate and up-end
vial until all medication dissolved
• Most parenteral medications should not be
shaken to dissolve powder

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 Reconstitution: Step 4
• After reconstitution, locate information that
notes how long reconstituted medication
can be stored

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 Reconstitution: Step 5
• Document the following items:
– Initials of person reconstituting medication
– Reconstitution date and time
– Expiration date and time

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 Reconstitution Information
• If all information needed for reconstitution
not on medication vial label, obtain from
one of the following locations:
– Medication package insert
– Current and reliable medication reference
– Facility pharmacy

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 Multiple Strength Solutions
• Some powdered medications offer choice of
dosage strengths
• Reconstituted strength must be added to
label information

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