Banana bag

A banana bag (or rally pack) is a bag of IV fluids containing vitamins and minerals. The bags typically contain thiamine, folic acid, and 3 grams of magnesium sulfate, and are usually used to replenish nutritional deficiencies or correct a chemical imbalance in the human body. The multi-vitamin solution has a yellow color, hence the term "banana bag".[1]

Composition

The typical composition of a banana bag is 1 liter of normal saline (sodium chloride 0.9%) with:

The solution is typically infused over four to eight hours or as per physician's orders.

Uses

Banana bags are used in the Intensive Care Unit to correct acute magnesium deficiencies. They are stated to be beneficial for patients with terminal illness because magnesium can mitigate nerve pain and relieve muscle pain and cramps.

Rally packs or Banana Bags are most often used for alcoholics who need thiamine to prevent Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. Chronic alcoholics can suffer significant whole-body magnesium deficiencies.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Jeffrey E Kelsey, D Jeffrey Newport, and Charles B Nemeroff (2006). "Alcohol Use Disorders". Principles of Psychopharmacology for Mental Health Professionals. Wiley-Interscience. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-0-471-79462-2.
  2. ↑ Merle A. Carter and Edward Bernstein (2005). "Acute and Chronic Alcohol Intoxication". In Elizabeth Mitchell and Ron Medzon. Introduction to Emergency Medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7817-3200-0.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.