Intravenous therapy in the context of "Diazepam"

Drug injection is a method of introducing a drug into the bloodstream via a hollow hypodermic needle, which is pierced through the skin into the body (usually intravenously, but also at an intramuscular or subcutaneous, location). Intravenous therapy, a form of drug injection, is universally practiced in modernized medical care. As of 2004, there were 13.2 million people worldwide who self-administered injection drugs outside of medical supervision, of which 22% are from developed countries.

A wide variety of drugs are injected, often opioids: these may include legally prescribed medicines and medication such as morphine, as well as stronger compounds often favored in recreational drug use, which are often illegal. Ketamine administered intravenously in clinical settings has become more common. Although there are various methods of taking drugs, injection is favoured by some people as the full effects of the drug are experienced very quickly, typically in five to ten seconds. It also bypasses first-pass metabolism in the liver, resulting in higher bioavailability and efficiency for many drugs (such as morphine or diacetylmorphine/heroin; roughly two-thirds of which is destroyed in the liver when consumed orally) than oral ingestion would. The effect is that the person gets a stronger (yet shorter-acting) effect from the same amount of the drug. Drug injection is therefore often related to substance dependence.

Absorption is the journey of a drug travelling from the site of administration to the site of action.

The drug travels by some route of administration (oral, topical-dermal, etc.) in a chosen dosage form (e.g., tablets, capsules, or in solution). Absorption by some other routes, such as intravenous therapy, intramuscular injection, enteral nutrition, is even more straightforward and there is less variability in absorption and bioavailability is often near 100%. Intravascular administration does not involve absorption, and there is no loss of drug. The fastest route of absorption is inhalation.

In pharmacology and toxicology, a route of administration is the way by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body.

Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance is applied. Common examples include oral and intravenous administration. Routes can also be classified based on where the target of action is. Action may be topical (local), enteral (system-wide effect, but delivered through the gastrointestinal tract), or parenteral (systemic action, but is delivered by routes other than the GI tract). Route of administration and dosage form are aspects of drug delivery.

Whole blood (WB) is human blood from a standard blood donation. It is used in the treatment of hemorrhagic shock, in exchange transfusion, and when people donate blood to themselves (autologous transfusion). One unit of whole blood (approximately 450 mL) increases hemoglobin levels by about 10 g/L. Cross matching is typically done before the blood is given. It is either given intravenously or through Intraosseous infusion.

Side effects include red blood cell breakdown, high blood potassium, infection, volume overload, lung injury, and allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis. Whole blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and blood plasma. It is best within a day of collection; however, it can be stored for up to three weeks if refrigerated (1-6 °C). The blood is typically combined with an anticoagulant and preservative during the collection process.

In medicine, venipuncture or venepuncture is the process of obtaining intravenous access for the purpose of venous blood sampling (also called phlebotomy) or intravenous therapy. In healthcare, this procedure is performed by medical laboratory scientists, medical practitioners, some EMTs, paramedics, phlebotomists, dialysis technicians, and other nursing staff. In veterinary medicine, the procedure is performed by veterinarians and veterinary technicians.

It is essential to follow a standard procedure for the collection of blood specimens to get accurate laboratory results. Any error in collecting the blood or filling the test tubes may lead to erroneous laboratory results.

An enema, also known as a clyster, is the rectal administration of a fluid by injection into the lower bowel via the anus. The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device for administering such an injection.

In standard medicine, the most frequent uses of enemas are to relieve constipation and for bowel cleansing before a medical examination or procedure; also, they are employed as a lower gastrointestinal series (also called a barium enema), to treat traveler's diarrhea, as a vehicle for the administration of food, water or medicine, as a stimulant to the general system, as a local application and, more rarely, as a means of reducing body temperature, as treatment for encopresis, and as a form of rehydration therapy (proctoclysis) in patients for whom intravenous therapy is not applicable.

Fluid replacement or fluid resuscitation is the medical practice of replenishing bodily fluid lost through sweating, bleeding, fluid shifts or other pathologic processes. Fluids can be replaced with oral rehydration therapy (drinking), intravenous therapy, rectally such as with a Murphy drip, or by hypodermoclysis, the direct injection of fluid into the subcutaneous tissue. Fluids administered by the oral and hypodermic routes are absorbed more slowly than those given intravenously.

Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from Penicillium moulds, principally P. chrysogenum and P. rubens. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using deep tank fermentation and then purified. A number of natural penicillins have been discovered, but only two purified compounds are in clinical use: penicillin G (intramuscular or intravenous use) and penicillin V (given by mouth). Penicillins were among the first medications to be effective against many bacterial infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. They are still widely used today for various bacterial infections, though many types of bacteria have developed resistance following extensive use.

In the United States, 10% of the population claims penicillin allergies, but because the frequency of positive skin test results decreases by 10% with each year of avoidance, 90% of these patients can eventually tolerate penicillin. Additionally, those with penicillin allergies can usually tolerate cephalosporins (another group of β-lactam) because the immunoglobulin E (IgE) cross-reactivity is only 3%.

A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside of the tube, allowing the syringe to take in and expel liquid or gas through a discharge orifice at the front (open) end of the tube. The open end of the syringe may be fitted with a hypodermic needle, a nozzle or tubing to direct the flow into and out of the barrel. Syringes are frequently used in clinical medicine to administer injections, infuse intravenous therapy into the bloodstream, apply compounds such as glue or lubricant, and draw/measure liquids. There are also prefilled syringes (disposable syringes marketed with liquid inside).

The word "syringe" is derived from the Greek σῦριγξ (syrinx, meaning "Pan flute", "tube").