I had just started working in the ED. Was a brand new nurse that got thrown into it by desperation. I never got a really good orientation, etc.
I was giving a pt. Demerol/Vistaril combination and pushed the Demerol and then started to give the Vistaril IV. I realized what I was doing and stopped (probably had only gotten a very small amount of it). I went to the director of the ED at the time (a very small, little man ) and told him what happened and asked what I should do. He yelled.
"get the crash cart!!!!!!"
:imbar
While I was passing out, he started to snicker. Of course nothing happened, we filed an incident report, etc. Now that I look back it was hysterical, but at the time all I could think was that I had just killed someone.
I give phenergan IV probably 10 times a DAY.... I had never heard that it couldnt be given IV. We usually dilute it in 10cc NS to keep it from burning, but we give it a LOT. Our docs seem to like to give it when we give Morphine to prevent the nausea that Morphine sometimes causes. They dont complain much after you have given them that either
Scariest Moment in ED.... lady comes in with husband, husband wants her admitted for suicide threats. Lady says over and over that she is not suicidal, got the feeling (well actually watched him on camera) that he was not always nice to her, he didnt actually physically touch her on camera but we could tell he was being very ugly to her in the room. He was a police officer in this small town, they were getting a divorce, he wanted custody of the child and was wanting to have her deemed "unfit as a mother" well, our psych doc would not admit her because she denied everything. Husband became extremely upset. Well, we send her home. 2 hours later we get the radio call of GSW to chest coming in by ambulance. They roll through the door and there she is.... he is right behind her claiming she did it to herself. He was GOING OFF at the doc... but you know... he is a police officer, so all the local law enforcement officers come in feeling sorry for him.
The whole time we are working her, doc/nurses/security kept saying... do not let him in here, telling the state patrol (his friends) that he cant come in. well what do they do? Let him in the room with all of us (whom he is really angry with at this point)
Long story short... he did it. Had his gun with him when he came back to the hospital too.
Took me a long time to get over that one... State patrol got in BIG trouble for not listening to us and following directions :)
Here is a possible reason why not to give that medication IV (Vistaril)
B) Intravenous route
1) SUMMARY
a) The use of hydroxyzine intravenously is not without hazards. Accidental intra-arterial administration can lead to necrosis and gangrene. Hemolysis does occur and is a special hazard in patients with decreased renal function. Intravenous hydroxyzine injections are also associated with pain and hypotension.
2) Intravenous hydroxyzine is not recommended due to the possibility of intravascular hemolysis (Linder & Dillon, 1967).
Let's see...which time shall I name?? We had a 25ish male come in by ems that stated pt had "magnets" stuck to his "groin" area. Pt arrived on stretcher moaning and groaning....assessment time....yes pt had 4 small magnets stuck on his um...man tool shall i say, they were the type that holds up walls in construction sites..the magnets not the man tool, anyway he and his friends were playing that tv show "jackass" and they threw them in the air and they all 4 swooped down and attached to his tool. His area was turning black....surgery was called...and then after the dr went to his truck and got 2 pair of vice grips, he and a male nurse both pulling at same time in different directions were able to pry the magnets apart. Poor boy was wailing....his friends of course were rolling on the floor in the hallway. Guess the guy can tell the ladies that he definately has a magnetic personality......funny funny.....anyway guy was discharged and referred to urologist for follow up if any problems occured.
We had a mostly nonresponsive ETOHer brought in, slid over onto the guerney, still fully dressed. I got his shoes off, started pulling the pants off from the foot of the bed. As they came off, I felt something heavy in the pocket so I yanked up and didn't let it hit the floor. Carefully took it out of the pocket, it looked like the cartridge roller thing out of the middle of a Colt revolver, so I handed it off to Security, who didn't know what it was either, it got put here and there and passed around a bit. When the police officer came in, I gave it to him. After he stopped turning white, he asked for a cup of water and very carefully pulled the bullets out and dumped the gunpowder into the water. Turns out it was a percussion type gun, all it needed was to be banged or hit to go off! Had I let it hit the floor all the bullets would have gone up my legs.
It is NOT ok to give vistaril IV. It is ok to give phenergan IV. my funniest/ scariest thing was when i was asked to help my friend "Find her badge" as she thought she had lost it while helping with post mortem care, and didn't want it lost forever when security took the body. I entered the room and was donning my gloves when I noticed out of the corner of my eye the bag moving up and down. Instead of figuring it out, I thought the body was breathing, and as nursing had pronounced, I was quietly freaking out. However, i was scared to "Save the patient" myself. When my friend who had asked for my help walked in and saw me staring at the body bag, she started giggling. Still I did not figure it out, because she was looking at me, not the body. I haughtily told her as I pointed at the body "THAT is not funny" hoping SHE woud be the one to unzip the bag and "Save the patient" (who wants to unzip the bag of a breathing corpse?) When she did not respond, I ran to the body to heroically uzip the bag, and my other friend sat up and screamed (she was of course in the body bag). Needless to say, i needed to change my scurbs after that.
:roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll ROFLMAO!! OOOOOOOOOOO I hope you got her back!!!!!
my funniest/ scariest thing was when i was asked to help my friend "Find her badge" as she thought she had lost it while helping with post mortem care, and didn't want it lost forever when security took the body. I entered the room and was donning my gloves when I noticed out of the corner of my eye the bag moving up and down. Instead of figuring it out, I thought the body was breathing, and as nursing had pronounced, I was quietly freaking out. However, i was scared to "Save the patient" myself. When my friend who had asked for my help walked in and saw me staring at the body bag, she started giggling. Still I did not figure it out, because she was looking at me, not the body. I haughtily told her as I pointed at the body "THAT is not funny" hoping SHE woud be the one to unzip the bag and "Save the patient" (who wants to unzip the bag of a breathing corpse?) When she did not respond, I ran to the body to heroically uzip the bag, and my other friend sat up and screamed (she was of course in the body bag). Needless to say, i needed to change my scurbs after that.
) and told him what happened and asked what I should do. He yelled.
:eek: 
Anna57
32 Posts
I give phenergan IV probably 10 times a DAY.... I had never heard that it couldnt be given IV. We usually dilute it in 10cc NS to keep it from burning, but we give it a LOT. Our docs seem to like to give it when we give Morphine to prevent the nausea that Morphine sometimes causes. They dont complain much after you have given them that either