Techniques and Complications of Intravenous Therapy

Abstract

The intravenous route of drug administration is employed for many cancer agents for two reasons: 1) the physical characteristics of the drug require a specific formulation or 2) the drug is particularly unstable and may coagulate proteins which if administered intramuscularly will irritate the local tissues. Drugs which are unstable in acid solution cannot be administered orally because of the presence of acid in the stomach. Drugs which may be degraded, rapidly inactivated, or which cannot be transported across the gastrointestinal lining similarly must be administered by the intravenous route. Continuous infusion to promote adequate blood levels over protracted periods may be necessary if the drug is inactivated by the proteins or enzymes in the blood. The distinctions between infusion, perfusion, and bolus injection are reviewed in Chapter 4. For some drugs, only intravenous preparations are available.