How many air bubbles required to endanger patient?

IVRUS, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2016

There are different research papers which review actual cases related to Air Embolism (AE).

The one I always remember is the elderly debilitated person who died from a 7cc AE. Now 7 cc is approx. 1/3 of many IV tubings as most tubings hold between 15 and 20 cc's.

For most people, however, it takes much greater amounts to cause a patient's death.

lauderek · Apr 25, 2016

There are different research papers which review actual cases related to Air Embolism (AE).
The one I always remember is the elderly debilitated person who died from a 7cc AE. Now 7 cc is approx. 1/3 of many IV tubings as most tubings hold between 15 and 20 cc's.
For most people, however, it takes much greater amounts to cause a patient's death.

Thank you for your info =]

Derek

elysRN · Apr 28, 2016

my experience as an echo tech... looking for ASD or VSD we would routinely agitate 5 cc of air with 5cc saline and inject several times with and without Valsalva. Sometimes we would push it 5 times. (5x 5= 25 cc of air) I did that over 5 years to so many patients. I never worry about air bubbles, it hurts the pumps more than the pts. I still prime all of my tubing and eliminate bubbles when necessary.

IVRUS, BSN, RN · Apr 28, 2016

True, When looking for septal defects, air bubble agitation is done, but I will disagree with your statement which says it doesn't hurt the patients. Any amount of air produces changes in the smooth intimal lining of the blood vessels, and several large bubbles can merge into one large one.

But I do agree with the need to prime ALL tubing and ext sets even caps before hooking up to the patients IV catheter.

mmm_016RN · May 17, 2016

I recommend reading "Death by Air: How Much is Too Much?" by Broadhurst. It's posted on the CVAA website for members online, but i'm sure you can find it elsewhere online. Great concrete information.