pauta libre

Bozena Elizabeth Jablonski Oct 25, 2018:

Did this ever get resolved? I have a come across a couple of instances of the exact same usage, so still baffled. "ACIDO FOLICO CAPS 10 MG. (Pauta Libre: 10 mg a las 9h. LJ)." and "LENOGRASTIM 263 MCG (34MILL) / 1ML. (Pauta Libre: 0 mcg a las 18h. 263 mcg a las 20h.)"

To give more context, these are taken from a long list of different medicines/doses. The folic acid is the only instance it appears in the list, however Lenograstim appears two times before this (the first time with a different dose and the second with the same) instance without the 'pauta libre'. Hope this helps and doesn't just further confuse!

Anne Schulz Jun 19, 2018:

Strange similarity, by the way, as the queried text from May 17 also read, "Acido folico 5 mg comp. (Pauta Libre: 5 mg a las 9h.)" Are you re-translating the same text ;-)

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 19, 2018:

Yes, it could be, but as needed or on demand does not make sense here as for the drug involved; it just does not make sense (medically) to prescribe folic acid in such a way...

Anne Schulz Jun 19, 2018:

Yes, PRN – that's what I vaguely remember to have learned on ProZ.

Nedra Rivera Huntington Jun 19, 2018:

Just throwing this out there, but has anybody thought about something like "as needed" or "as needed regimen"?

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 19, 2018:

I am just curious about it, but really, as you begin to suspect, it does not seem to be relevant at all from a strictly medical point of view.

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 19, 2018:

Can you say what the other pauta libre drug is? (Pauta Libre: 1 U a las 9h. 2 U a las 21h)
I cannot imagine either what LJ stands for (other than a signature; name of doctor prescribing the "pauta libre").
Do you have any other info (as when was each medication prescribed -for example to check if "pauta libre" could mean "later prescribed"; not prescribed initially but at a later time)?

Alan Lambson (asker) Jun 19, 2018:

It was a very reasonable hypothesis! I am beginning to wonder if the phrase is meaningful at all in this piece.

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 19, 2018:

:( ok then; not the right idea!

Alan Lambson (asker) Jun 19, 2018:

There are other medications scheduled at 9:00 that are not “pauta libre”.

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 19, 2018:

I am probably expressing myself badly!
My own idea is that 9 a.m. might not be the regular usual time in which medication is given in that hospital -the regular usual time for morning prescription might be 8 a.m. for example. Here, for whatever reason, the doctor wants the folic acid to be given at nine instead of at eight a.m.
Pauta libre would only mean then "give medication at this time (9 a.m.) every day even though 9 a.m. is not a normal time for nurses to give morning medication".

Anyhow, not sure if my idea is correct; I just want to be clear as for what I am trying to convey; pauta libre would thus be just a non-relevant comment (relevant only for nurses and organizational purposes) -which makes sense, and allows for a translation that obviates the term [or explains that the given prescription time is not the usual for that hospital].

Anyhow, as said, this intuition should be easy to discard through context; if any other medication not pointed out as "pauta libre" is to be given at nine a.m. then my idea is simply wrong.

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 19, 2018:

The idea is that of "out of predetermined/automatic schedule". Check out the schedule (times) of other medication prescribed in the morning for that patient. If my idea is correct you should find no other medication prescribed at 9 a.m. without the "pauta libre" tag -8 a.m. sounds as a reasonable schedule time for the rest of regular morning medication in a hospital.

Alan Lambson (asker) Jun 18, 2018:

Chema and Phil: Sincere thanks for your willingness to dedicate time and thought to my translation problem! I still struggle with the idea that "pauta libre" means "out of regular schedule". For both medications in the list that are stated as "pauta libre", a very specific administration schedule is given, as it is with the other medications. In this regard, there seems to be no difference amongst them. Suspending decision-making for a couple of hours.

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 18, 2018:

Thanks for the link, phil! And actually my previous idea seems a very reasonable one -far more than self-administration. When you use some software in order to prescribe a medication the time(s) of administration are usually pre-defined (so that nurses can better organize medication administration to patients). And yet it is also usual that a doctor is free to include an out-of-regular-schedule time of administration -for whatever reasonable motive. In that case, a "pauta libre" would make full sense (as an out-of-regular-schedule time of administration -or whatever expression you feel that may convey the idea).
As for the "catalonian hypothesis" I cannot think of anything that fits within the given context.

Alan Lambson (asker) Jun 18, 2018:

Gracias, Chema, por su respuesta detallada. En este caso se trata, evidentemente, de u paciente internado (hospitalizado) y este renglón figura entre otros 12 o 15, no distinguiéndose entre medicamentos admistrados por el personal del hospital y los que el paciente podría auto-administrarse. No se trata de "as needed", pues esto se indica en la lista con (PRN). La respuesta anterior a esta pregunta, citada por Phil Goddard (gracias, Phil), tampoco convence. Me pregunto si no será una "castellanización" de alguna expresión catalana, pues el hospital es de Valencia.

philgoddard Jun 18, 2018:

Yes, we had it a few weeks ago And Chema made a helpful contribution.
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/medical_pharmac...

Chema Nieto Castañón Jun 18, 2018:

Creo recordar una pregunta similar previa pero no consigo encontrarla. Pauta libre se utiliza generalmente con sentido literal, en tanto que libre de algo;
En el estudio ACTG 5142 se compararon tres pautas como TAR de inicio EFV+2 ITIAN,LPV/r+2 ITIAN y una pauta libre de ITIAN: EFV+LPV/r. http://www.msc.es/ciudadanos/enfLesiones/enfTransmisibles/si...
No obstante, aquí es evidente que no se utiliza con este sentido, sino que parece una pauta normal (5 mg de ácido fólico diario a las 9 horas); no tiene nada de "libre". Podría entenderse, tal vez, como medicación que toma / se administra el propio paciente (versus medicación que debe administrar personal enfermero, por ejemplo a pacientes hospitalizados), aunque nunca lo he visto expresado así.
En tanto que la pauta instaurada es realmente "normal" me tienta interpretarlo como tal; ácido fólico 5 mg, un comprimido diario a las 9 horas, oral, desde tal fecha, obviando el "libre". Pero lo cierto es que no se me ocurre a qué cosa puede aludir el original...

Alan Lambson (asker) Jun 18, 2018:

Doubtful. It appears again further down with very specific instructions for another drug: Pauta Libre: 1 U a las 9h. 2 U a las 21h. Or maybe you are right. The healthcare personnel are given some leeway in following the instruction. I just don't know. This is from Spain - Catalonia.

philgoddard Jun 18, 2018:

Approximate guideline?