In my early years as a nurse on the IV team, one of our responsibilities was to start all the pre-op IV’s using 18g catheters. Because of the large gauge size catheters we were inserting, we would use buffered Lidocaine 1% to numb the site prior to IV insertion. If the patient is allergic to…
A day to recognize board certified nurses in many nursing specialties. Congratulations to all certified nurses! Certification is a profession’s official recognition of achievement, expertise, and clinical judgment. It is a mark of excellence that requires continued learning and skill development to maintain. I have been a “CRNI” – certified registered nurse in Infusion since…
..is a good motto to live by. It is the Boy Scout’s motto (Be Prepared) and growing up, this was my mother’s motto (thanks, Mom). 🙂 In nursing, we were taught to always be prepared for anything and as professionals, we’ve been hard wired to live up to that motto. As nurses, we are expected…
In the past 12 years, we have seen an increase in new monoclonal antibodies approved by the FDA for numerous indications as treatment options for cancer, neurologic disorders, immunologic, and autoimmune diseases, to name a few. These monoclonal antibodies are administered either subcutaneously, usually self administered by patients or administered intravenously by a registered nurse…
In case you missed it, here’s a summary of IV tips posted on Twitter in February. Central Venous Catheters (CVC): All CVC should produce a free flowing brisk blood return upon aspiration without having the patient do shoulder/arm movements. o It is not acceptable if patients have to do shoulder and/or arm movements in order…
At some point within the last 5 years, I am certain that all of us received some sort of training on how to prevent or reduce the incidence of catheter related blood stream infections (CR-BSI) associated with CVC. One of the things we’ve learned is in addition to the catheter hub, components of the IV…
This week, I posted on Twitter an article I saw in the American Nurse Today about “Calculating IV drip rates with confidence”. For an infusion nurse, calculations of drip rates and drug concentration is a given with the nature of my job. I didn’t realize that some nurses don’t calculate rates or don’t even know…
RED is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Today, many are wearing RED to celebrate Valentine’s day or some may be wearing RED to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, the year of the Tiger. RED in…
An FDA press release stated that Acacia Inc. voluntarily executed a product recall of certain lots of IV Extension Sets with BD Q-Syte™ Luer Access Device. The BD Q-Syte™ Luer Access Device is a Needleless Valve manufactured by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company). The IV Extension Set with BD Q-Syte™ Luer Access device is intended…
As an infusion nurse, I have given infusions to pregnant patients only for the treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum. The infusions were primarily liters of IV fluids with multivitamins or a modified version of total parenteral nutrition just enough to tide them over until most patients are able to eat and sustain adequate nutrition orally. Otherwise,…
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