Medication Lost During Administration of Crushed Pills

Required reading for all learners: Implicit Bias impacts patient outcomes

Nurses regularly crush and administer pills via gastric tube, and the remaining residue is noted. This study quantified medication loss through a gastric tube. A 325‑mg aspirin tablet was crushed, mixed with water, and given through a gastric tube. The slurry and rinse were analyzed across five trials. Results showed that about 22% of the aspirin was lost, with 5.7% remaining in the crushing sleeve and cup, and the rest lost between the syringe and collection flask. These findings highlight implications for dosing accuracy when administering crushed medications via gastric tube. When patients cannot swallow pills, clinicians should consider alternative formulations, and when crushing is required, nurses should use a consistent technique to limit medication loss and recognize that crushed‑pill administration can lead to clinically meaningful underdosing.