Glucose 5%: Infusion Guidance and Precautions
Glucose 5% guidance as an IV infusion vehicle, with compatibility limits and low nutritional value.
Also searched as
Source reviewed
November 2023
Guide category
Infusion fluids
Safety boundary
Educational medicine information, not personal medical advice.
Kenza Health Hub presents this medicine page as structured health education. Check dose, route, interactions, pregnancy or breast-feeding considerations, and local protocol with a qualified clinician or pharmacist. Read our medical editorial policy.
Indications
Vehicle for the administration of drugs by IV infusion.
Forms and strengths
500 ml and 1000 ml bottles or bags.
Composition
5% isotonic glucose solution (50 mg of glucose/ml) for infusion.
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
- Do not use 5% glucose solution for the administration of hydralazine, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, aciclovir, phenytoin, or bleomycin.
- Amoxicillin diluted in 5% glucose must be administered in less than one hour. If infusion over more than one hour is required, use 0.9% sodium chloride.
- This solution does not contain electrolytes or lactate. Its use is not recommended for the IV treatment of dehydration. Use Ringer lactate or 0.9% sodium chloride solutions.
- Low nutritional value: 200 kcal/litre.
- Also comes in a premixed solution of 5% glucose and Ringer lactate, which is the preferred infusion solution for maintenance fluids in children.
Source
MSF Essential drugs practical guidelines (January 2026)
This page combines source-derived medicine reference sections with Kenza editorial context, while leaving out the Storage and Remarks sections from the source batch.
Rate this guide
Be the first to rate this guide.