Paclitaxel (Nurse)
Medication Basics
Drug Name
Paclitaxel. This education entry is the nurse version.
Purpose / Indication
Paclitaxel is used in treatment regimens for breast, ovarian, lung, and other cancers. Confirm disease-specific indication, line of therapy, combination regimen, and institutional protocol before administration.
Dosage & Administration
Dose Schedule
Dose, schedule, cycle length, premedications, and dose modifications are regimen-specific. Verify provider order, protocol, BSA/weight parameters, labs, and hold criteria.
Route
IV (Intravenous)
Timing Considerations
Assess baseline status, review labs, confirm consent as applicable, administer premedications per protocol, and monitor during and after infusion per institutional standards.
Food Relation
Either
Time of Day
Flexible
Special Instructions
Complete medication reconciliation, allergy review, infection screening, pregnancy considerations as applicable, and patient education before treatment.
Injection Techniques
Administer only by trained staff using institutional hazardous drug, biologic, infusion, and extravasation procedures as applicable.
Mechanism of Action
Mechanism
Paclitaxel acts on microtubules. Teach mechanism at a level appropriate to the learner and connect mechanism to expected toxicities and monitoring.