Ever caught a visitor playing with an IV pump??

VeryPlainJane · Mar 13, 2006

Did you call your nurse to let them know it was beeping?

yep! I had to wait till the next shift took over.

LoriAlabamaRN · Mar 13, 2006

I once had a patient who was a former LPN but now a fulltime drug addict, she was a frequent flyer, loved the PCA pump so came in often when the pain got too bad for her normal 16mg dilaudid PO q3h and 90mg MS Contin TID. She would pause her IV fluids long enough to have hit her PCA button four or five times, then turn it up to 999cc/hr so she got all the demerol in a rush. We ended up having to get a special pump because she knew how to lock/unlock hers. Of course, she insisted she never touched it, that the nurse must have done it. :rolleyes:

NessaNurse · Mar 13, 2006

I once had a patient who was a former LPN but now a fulltime drug addict, she was a frequent flyer, loved the PCA pump so came in often when the pain got too bad for her normal 16mg dilaudid PO q3h and 90mg MS Contin TID. She would pause her IV fluids long enough to have hit her PCA button four or five times, then turn it up to 999cc/hr so she got all the demerol in a rush. We ended up having to get a special pump because she knew how to lock/unlock hers. Of course, she insisted she never touched it, that the nurse must have done it.

I have heard of people doing this. Also had kids request their benadryl push and then follow w a fast flush. hmmmm. we has one boy who would even point to which port he wanted it in. yowsers. Ive heard the best highs come from IV demerol and benadryl (*of all things). Yikes, savign up all that demeral, I've heard of people pinching the tubing too to help save ti up (*demeral that is) :uhoh3: .

SuperFlyRN · Mar 13, 2006

I have heard of people doing this. Also had kids request their benadryl push and then follow w a fast flush. hmmmm. we has one boy who would even point to which port he wanted it in. yowsers. Ive heard the best highs come from IV demerol and benadryl (*of all things). Yikes, savign up all that demeral, I've heard of people pinching the tubing too to help save ti up (*demeral that is) .

It is scary what people will do-often with little knowledge of the detrimental effects! When i worked pharmacy we would sell Tylenol#1 or 222's like crazy and people would always purchase with Gravol/Benadryl as well-we found out this one gentleman was -gulp- crushing the tablets and mixing it with NS and injecting it for a buzz..oh well. I also walked into our staff bathroom at the pharmacy one time and someone who had just purchased syringes gave herself her DepoProvera shot to herself, because, "she see's them doing it all the time"

Too much!

ArizonaICU · Mar 13, 2006

I agree with you that this is a serious safety issue. I'm in the ICU, and if a visitor or patient were to cancel an alarm on a pump giving pressors or an antiarrythmic (maybe alarm due to occlusion, vtbi, whatever), the patient could be dead in 2-3 minutes or less and/or it may be too late to resuscitate them by the time the central monitor goes off.

Visitors silencing alarms? None of the nurses I know would ever go for that!

pannie · Mar 13, 2006

Yep, I did it, too Plain Jane. Beeps for 30 minutes after calling twice. Your head is about to explode and you really, really don't care if someone gets upset.

Noryn · Mar 13, 2006

I thought the plums had a switch on the back to lock it but most of these switches are very simple to operate. If they were playing with the silence button I would educate them and warn them not to do it again. If they were playing with the settings, then I would have them leave.

grinnurse, RN · Mar 13, 2006

Our IV pumps have a hidden lock. I have had to ask people to not manage the pumps before, but never had anyone be noncompliant. And, chart it and notify, of course.

Ditto-

Have had to do this numerous times.

Undecided7 · Mar 13, 2006

I'm pretty sure you have a right to remove a visitor if he/she is a threat to pt. safety- ESPECIALLY if you have already told them. Also, we don't have many, but I love it when a patient is being manipulative with narcs and the doctor says, "Okay then... D/C all narcotics. Pt. may have Tylenol Q 6 hours as needed" Or even better (if they are stable) D/C home- instructions: stop doing drugs. Refer to NA. Also, when I have a drug seeking patient, I always dilute the medicine in lots of NS and give it slowly at the highest port. My job is to reduce pain, not get someone high (I don't get paid nearly as much as a drug dealer). They are getting the same dose of medication, it won't burn going in, side effects are reduced, and sometimes it last a bit longer because the peak and trough are not quite as pronounced.

thumperRN · Mar 13, 2006

Also, when I have a drug seeking patient, I always dilute the medicine in lots of NS and give it slowly at the highest port. My job is to reduce pain, not get someone high (I don't get paid nearly as much as a drug dealer). They are getting the same dose of medication, it won't burn going in, side effects are reduced, and sometimes it last a bit longer because the peak and trough are not quite as pronounced.

I do the same thing. You are exactly right - I don't get paid as much as a drug dealer. As for the pumps, I lock them - EVERY TIME!! That way, I don't have to worry about someone screwing them up. There was a pt not long ago on a Heparin drip at 8ml/hr who turned it up to 80ml/hr. It stayed like that for a couple of hours til one of the nurses caught it. There PTT was THROUGH THE ROOF!! Thank God the pt didn't bleed out. He was severly reprimanded by the charge nurse and house supervisor, and then the nurse was reprimanded for not locking the pump. Very scary, the things that can happen. :nono:

veegeern, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2006

I have heard of people doing this. Also had kids request their benadryl push and then follow w a fast flush. hmmmm. we has one boy who would even point to which port he wanted it in. yowsers. Ive heard the best highs come from IV demerol and benadryl (*of all things). Yikes, savign up all that demeral, I've heard of people pinching the tubing too to help save ti up (*demeral that is) .

OMG! I've never heard of this or the previous post with the PCA and fast flush. Both make sense. Now I understand why one of my patients ALWAYS c/o itching and pain at the same time. No rash. Doesn't have chronic itching at home. No itching after a particular med given. For the past 2 years I've wondered about this as this person is a frequent flyer. Thanks for the insight.

mstigerlily · Mar 13, 2006

Different patient: I once had a patient family member turn up the Low wall suction on an NG tube to full suction!!!!! I educated him on that, and what did he tell me..."I am familiar with suction, we use it at the construction site!" WTF! Thank goodness that the patient was not harmed!!

!!!! Oh yes, suctioning someone insides is the same as suctioning up dirt at the construction site!!!!