Got Pain? There’s IV Acetaminophen for that…

Yes, if you haven’t heard yet, that over the counter acetaminophen in a bottle you have in your medicine cabinet, is now available as an intravenous infusion . IV acetaminophen (Ofirmev) is indicated  for the management of mild to moderate pain; the management of moderate to severe pain with adjunctive opioid analgesics; and the reduction of fever. It…

Poll Results: Gloves vs no gloves during vein palpation

The poll results are in: 1.  Do you think an RN should wear gloves when palpating for veins prior to venipuncture? Yes:  47 Votes    42% No:  65 Votes     58% 112 readers took the poll, and 58% said they think an RN should not wear gloves when palpating veins prior to venipuncture. 47% said they…

INS 2012: Exhibit Hall Experience

At each INS Annual Meeting, I am always looking forward to the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall was huge and to see every booths and exhibits, one needs a strategy to get through without missing any booth or presentation. My strategy is simple and that is…. to go down the numbered aisles and look around…

INS 2012: A Vegas Experience

I am back (and survived) after a long week in Vegas attending the INS 2012 annual meeting.  Although it was exhausting, one can’t say they didn’t learn anything, The week was packed with educational sessions that focused on may different core aspects of infusion nursing. There was something for everyone who attended – from first time…

April 28 – National Take Back Day

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous 3 events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those…

Wouldn’t it be nice….

..if we see veins like we had X-ray vision and insert IV catheters with one stick in patients with difficult to find veins?? Well, now there are several devices that can make the “venipuncture” experience much more tolerable, improves patient satisfaction and eliminates sticking patient’s veins blindly. They are called “vein-detecting” devices that use different types of technology and…

Outsource or In House?

I’m sure no one will be surprised to hear that many services in acute care and outpatient settings are outsourced to individuals or organizations who specialized in certain tasks or services. One of these outsourced services include vascular access device insertion, in particular PICC insertions. There are several independent companies and/or  individuals who provide PICC insertion service, many…

In case you missed it…

Just a few interesting articles… 1.  “Poppy Pocket” – a safe and discreet way for patients to manage their infusion pumps. What a great idea! How many times have our patients complained of having to carry their pumps and nowhere to put it? This was designed by a daughter of a patient who battled cancer and…

I got a blood return…but

…it burns when you flush my port! In case you missed it… “The Case of the Painful Port”  a very interesting article published by ONS Connect and  shared by a twitter colleague @ONSmark.  Read article here… This case is a very good reminder for us nurses to stop and listen to what our patients are…

My IV infiltrated….

and I am wondering if what seeped into my arm will yield any medicinal benefit or if it’s like not getting anything at all? This was a question posted by a reader of this blog. Thanks for posting this interesting question.  While I could have readily given an answer based on my experience, I wanted…