Thanksgiving Day… a day filled with turkey/stuffing, pumpkin pie, an abundance of coma inducing foods, watching the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade” on TV, football, and annoying jokes from the in-laws!! Yes, those are the extras…..for this day is truly for being grateful and humble for what we have. Sometimes many of us forget to give thanks…
This maybe old news to some…but others may have missed it… Infiltration: Checking for blood return or back flow of blood is good for patency but not a reliable method for assessing infiltration at IV site. If infusion continues to run when you apply digital pressure 3 inches above peripheral IV site in front of…
… as in blood return… which, to an infusion nurse is truly exhilarating! When I am challenged to insert a 24g peripheral IV catheter in a tiny, invisible vein of a dehydrated infant, I jump for joy as I watch anxiously for the blood return and pray that blood continues to backflow as I advance…
We’ve all heard it before…in healthcare, anything can happen, hence there is no guarantee. Well, that is until the press release for a new needlefree catheter patency device called “Neutron” came out on Oct. 4, 2011. Click here for the press release. Neutron, according to its manufacturer ICU Medical, is the world’s first and only…
In September of 2010, I posted a blog about drug shortages, the good and the bad. Then, according to ISMP, the drug shortage problem has risen to the level of a national public health crisis. Click here for this blog post. Fast forward to September 2011…not only do we still have the same drug shortage…
A Class I recall has been issued for the SynchroMed II Implantable Infusion Pump, models 8637-20 and 8637-40, distributed between May 2004 and July 8, 2011 manufactured by Medtronics Inc. The SynchroMed II Pump is indicated when patient therapy requires the chronic infusion of the drugs or fluids. This infusion pump is indicated to deliver…
Today our nation marks the 10th year anniversary of the attacks on 9/11 in NYC, DC and Pennsylvania. That was a day no one would ever forget. We will always be grateful to the courageous firefighters, rescuers and first responders who risked their lives to save those in the rumbles of this dreadful day. We…
This is the title of an article from the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) posted by my twitter colleague @chemosabe from Australia. Design/Setting: A prospective study in a tertiary hospital to collect and analyse reusable venesection tourniquets for the presence of MROs —methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and extended-spectrum β-lactamase and metallo-β- lactamase-producing…
Time flies when you’re having fun!!! This week, the Infusion Nurse Blog is celebrating its two year blog anniversary!!! *throws confetti* As I said before and again this year, sometimes I still feel like I don’t have anything interesting to blog about. But I am very encouraged, grateful and honored because you have continued to…
One of the FAQ I get is this…. Q: Should you or should you not clean the top of vials after you just removed the protective lid? A: Yes, clean(wipe) the vial diaphragm even if you just flipped the lid off is the answer I give. Then I get this “deer in the headlight” look.…
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