Color Coded IV Needle Gauges

Nursing Students Student Assist

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I need help remember what color corresponds to a particular needle gauge. My patient had a pink cathether but it didn't have a gauge size labeled.

What are all the colors and sizes?

Helpful Video on IV Gauge Needles [video=youtube_share;abIrfrnaPfg]
Specializes in SRNA.

14g are orange.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

Unfortunately 27 gauges are also gray but I seriously doubt anybody would confuse one with a 16!

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Hey, you can fit the orange 16g into the mnemonic because underneath the gray dirt is "orange" magma in the earth's mantle! I guess just go from the core of the earth all the way up to the sun, LOL!

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Specializes in IMCU.
truern said:
We don't use 16g or 24g, but I remember the others by thinking I'd turn green if somebody came at me with an 18g, twenty TWO rhymes with blue, and pink is just the other one LOL

When my husband has triple bypass sx the anesthesiologist put in two 14g IVs. I almost died!! They looked like garden hoses!!

OMG! If someone came at me with 14g I would run for the hills.

Here is a guide:

http://www.bd.com/infusion/pdfs/D14442.pdf

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Hi

There is a color coding system for peripheral venous cannulae:

22G Blue

20G Pink

18G Green

17G White

16G Grey

(14G Brown)

However, there is also a DIFFERENT color coding system for hypodermic needles, namely:

27G (Outer diameter is 0.4 mm) Grey

25G (Outer diameter is 0.5 mm) Orange

23G (Outer diameter is 0.6 mm) Blue

21G (Outer diameter is 0.8 mm) Green

I hope this clarifies the issue.

;-)

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

i think it vary based on the institution as well as the manufacturer, but at my hospital:

[color=deepskyblue]blue rhymes with 22g

green rhymes with 18g

pink - 20g (the other one lol)

the only other one i've seen (and only once) is gray, which is 16g.

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