No-OTC oral medications do not go by the "multi-dose vial" 28 day rule. They can be used through until manufacturer's expiration date.
However, you should be aware that the ISMP does consider pedi oral meds a "high risk" category---so, you should consider labeling them as "high risk" because of the potential for dosing errors with weight based dosing.
The only multi-dose vials we have in our organization that we use that must be dated are our lidocaine vials (when we cannot get single use), and our ppd solution. Per the manufacturer, the ppd solution is good for 30 days once the vial is opened.
I keep a policy of expiration dating so that staff can use the cheat-sheet to help them with appropriate labeling, and this goes over what does and does not need to be labeled with an open/exp date.
Hope that is helpful!
Mary
Ps. One other little factoid---did you know that EKG tabs often expire once the packages are open? McKesson brand expires 45 days after you open a package of them-so, we put them in a Ziploc bag to keep them sticky, and then label with open and 45 day later expiration.
Mary Blankson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAAN
Chief Nursing Officer
Community Health Center, Inc.
675 Main Street,
Middletown, CT, 06457
Cell: (860)227-5432
mary@chc1.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 12/14/2023 9:48:00 AM
From: Cie Cascone
Subject: OTC Medication Expiration
We have a current discussion regarding the expiration of OTC medications such as multi-dose OTC Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Do you go by the standard 28 day after opening or use manufacturer's expiration date? If you have a reference I would greatly appreciate it. It seems to be variable across our clinics and we would like to standardize. TIA!
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Cie Cascone MSN RN
Corp Clinical Educator
Spira Care
Kansas City MO
(816)365-3368
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