I would like to know if it is OK to fix an occluded peripheral IV by using a 3 cc syringe instead of a larger syringe. I know that smaller syringes exert more pressure into the lumen and are not OK to use with PICCs, but I am unclear as to whether or not this is OK for plain old peripheral IVs.
My facility does not have any rules against it (and, no, we don't need a doctor's order lol!) and my Google searches only turn up results for PICCs.
Also, I'd like to hear your tips and tricks on fixing IV locks that have occluded despite regular flushing and all the usual standard care.
Ooo! This is a good question. I'm a third semester nursing student and last week, my patient was getting her potassium replaced. I added 10 mg 1% lidocaine and even one of the nurses had to dilute it with an extra 500 ml bag of NS because the pt c/o burning. She had to go down to CT and the doc wanted IV con in addition to PO contrast so the break nurse asked me I could saline lock her. As I was attempting to flush, she winced in pain and I noticed a small area of redness as well as firmness, there was definitely resistance. The break nurse came in and inspected the site, then asked me to d/c the IV which I did. I felt bad because she had been poked four times the day prior and I knew getting another IV site with a vein big enough for the power injector would be an issue. I felt really horrible that I did something wrong because her potassium was infusing without any apparent issues just prior to me saline locking her. Was there anything I could've done differently? The nurses said there was nothing I could really do since we all know potassium is very irritating to the veins and can cause them to blow fairly easy. Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!
I don't think so. I think you did everything you should and could do. The redness, firmness and pain were definitely indications that a new IV should be started. When I started this thread, I was only referring to saving IVs that had no apparent complications other than a clog. Kudos to you for flushing. :)
Cuddleswithpuddles
667 Posts
I don't think so. I think you did everything you should and could do. The redness, firmness and pain were definitely indications that a new IV should be started. When I started this thread, I was only referring to saving IVs that had no apparent complications other than a clog. Kudos to you for flushing. :)