Each year millions of patients receive medication which has to be prepared specifically for that patient. As a pharmacy technician, you are asked to explain the concepts of reconstitution and dilution to an intern assigned to your pharmacy. Drugs in powder form can be reconstituted in a liquid solution. Highly concentrated drugs in liquid form can be diluted to many different percentage strengths to fill various prescriptions.
To simplify your explanations, your first example is reconstituting powdered cocoa in water to make hot cocoa. Your second example is diluting liquid cleaning solution with water. Each example has exact instructions so the final product has accurate parts of an active ingredient with an inactive base.
What is a possible consequence of not following the instructions provided if the cocoa powder in our scenario was a medication, such as the antibiotic Cefazolin to treat a bacterial infection, and the final product was an intravenous IV bag for an inpatient?
Describe a benefit of pharmacies stocking highly concentrated liquid medications that must be diluted to fill prescriptions.
Since prescribers do not know which concentrated strength of medication a pharmacy stocks, they write prescriptions for the percentage strength of medication to give a patient. It is up to the pharmacy tech to calculate the proper amount of each ingredient. Explain how you are practicing and preparing to perform reconstitution/dilution calculations in the pharmacy. Be specific about the methods of study you are using.
