Telly
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2003
- Messages
- 2,395
The basic question - The introduction of air, air embolism, in the circulatory system is bad news. How is the introduction of air avoided in the IV process?
I'm sure I'm not using all the proper medical terms here, but bear with me...
The heart is a pump, and an IV is inserted into a vein in the arm, for example. The vein system is on the suction side of the pump (heart).
Is the vein system, though it is on the suction side of the heart, slightly above atmospheric pressure? Or is it below atmospheric pressure like one would assume in most closed-system mechanical pumping systems?
When the IV is initially inserted, what about the air that is in the tubing that is directly connected to the needle (the pigtail of tubing)?
When an IV bag and tubing are connected to the needle pigtail, is air first bled (um, poor word choice, but I'm thinking mechanically here!) from the tubing, to avoid air going downstream to the IV needle?
I understand the concept of the IV Drip Chamber below the bag, to prevent air going down the tubing while infusing, and as a visual indicator of rate. But what happens when the bag runs out? If one is lying in a hospital late at night in poor shape, and the infusion pump alarm goes off because the bag has emptied, what happens if nothing is done for quite a while? I'm not talking about the the lack of goodness coming from whatever was being infused, I'm focusing on the issue of air.
I was told, after the fact by someone else, "not to worry" when the infusion pump alarm goes off, it doesn't need to be handled right away. But they did not explain the mechanics of any of the IV process with regards to avoiding the introduction of air, as they were not a Nurse or Doctor. I would feel (slightly) better if I knew the mechanics of it for the next time something occurs.
I'm sure I'm not using all the proper medical terms here, but bear with me...
The heart is a pump, and an IV is inserted into a vein in the arm, for example. The vein system is on the suction side of the pump (heart).
Is the vein system, though it is on the suction side of the heart, slightly above atmospheric pressure? Or is it below atmospheric pressure like one would assume in most closed-system mechanical pumping systems?
When the IV is initially inserted, what about the air that is in the tubing that is directly connected to the needle (the pigtail of tubing)?
When an IV bag and tubing are connected to the needle pigtail, is air first bled (um, poor word choice, but I'm thinking mechanically here!) from the tubing, to avoid air going downstream to the IV needle?
I understand the concept of the IV Drip Chamber below the bag, to prevent air going down the tubing while infusing, and as a visual indicator of rate. But what happens when the bag runs out? If one is lying in a hospital late at night in poor shape, and the infusion pump alarm goes off because the bag has emptied, what happens if nothing is done for quite a while? I'm not talking about the the lack of goodness coming from whatever was being infused, I'm focusing on the issue of air.
I was told, after the fact by someone else, "not to worry" when the infusion pump alarm goes off, it doesn't need to be handled right away. But they did not explain the mechanics of any of the IV process with regards to avoiding the introduction of air, as they were not a Nurse or Doctor. I would feel (slightly) better if I knew the mechanics of it for the next time something occurs.
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