How To Ensure Low Dose Oral Medication Delivery

Safety overrides everything else when it comes to administration of food or drugs via the gastrointestinal route. The issues are aggravated when the patient happens to be pre term baby who is also under weight and reveal inadequate development. The best way to provide proper nutritional support along with the right medication is to employ the right kind of syringes manufactured specifically for pediatric use.

Sure, the health industry has noted the risks involved when the connection between tubes get mixed up and taken steps to get rid of such instances once and for all. The ISO Standards are followed closely enough by the ENFit connectors at present with the chances of misconnections becoming remote. Most of the manufacturers, dealers as well as the medical facilities and clinics have successfully transitioned to the new kind of connectors yet the challenge of providing medication to the neonates remains undiminished perpetrating the need for syringes that are capable of low dose oral medication delivery.

The ENFit syringes used for low dose medication via the oral or enteral route also come fitted with a safety collar to prevent misconnection to a non-enteral tube. However, there is a distinct chance of the liquid drug collecting in a pool underneath the safety collar that can wet the young infant and inconvenience the care giver. The best way to counteract this would be to use an ‘oral tip syringe’ when drawing up the drug directly from the medicine bottle or from a cup filled with liquid.

The manufacturers and health industry have been repeatedly requesting the users to make the transition to ENFit syringes along with other kinds of connectors for some time now. Unfortunately, a complete conversion has not been possible due to the non availability of the said devices. Good News is in the offing though for many manufacturers have now passed through the testing stage and have the required syringes compliant with the standards fully ready for use.

The ENFit syringe happens to be an essential part of the connector system and will remain safely connected to the right tubing for feeding, delivery of drugs as well as flushing. There have been numerous vendors trained in the current safety practices before making available additional devices such as straws, bottle adaptors and caps designed to be used with an ENFit compatible syringe only.

How to employ a syringe for administration of liquid medication

• It is essential to utilize an ENFit syringe for connecting to an ENFit feeding tube as an ordinary oral syringe will no longer be compatible with the tube. FDA also recommends labeling the syringes by its purpose o further decrease the risk of misconnections.


• Oral administration of the medicine directly by means of an ENFit syringe needs to be regulated properly. There is always the chance of some amount of liquid remaining behind in the ‘dead space’ thus accentuating the problem of an incomplete dosage.

A syringe to syringe connector can, however, help in delivering the required dose to the patient. This type of a connector can also be used for transferring the contents from one syringe to another as well as for mixing two or more types of liquids as prescribed by the medical professional.