Is it possible for a patient to bleed out of the very end of an IV port?

netglow, ASN, RN · Oct 12, 2012

Nope .

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Oct 12, 2012

I've never seen blood back flow out of the port without a something connected to it, either a syringe aspirating it out or IV tubing connected to fluids that were placed on the floor (see story below).

I had a young guy with an 18 gauge in his AC. He had been hooked up to IV tubing with fluids hanging by gravity by the emergency room. When he came up from the ER, there wasn't a IV pole in the room so the (genius!!) transporter placed the bag of IV fluids under the bed on the floor. By the time I got to the room, about 15 minutes later, the 1000 ml bag of IV fluids had filled up with a ton of blood.

SaoirseRN · Oct 12, 2012

Only if the end is open, as in whatever type of cap is on the end of the IV has come off when the IV is not locked. Otherwise no.

MoopleRN · Oct 12, 2012

For that to happen, there has to be a LOT of extremely poor nursing care/negligence. I can think of worst case scenarios where that might happen but in all of them, the attending nurse is a moron/out for a cig break/passed out/asleep etc...

Now I'm curious as to what prompted the OP!

iluvivt, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2012

You can lose a significant amount of blood from a good IV site if the cap or tubing should become disconnected at the hub of the catheter. The vein would most likely have to and the looks of the room be a large on as in the ACF or a large one above the ACF and if the pt was anticoagulated .So in other words all the conditions would have to present for this to occur, kind of like the perfect storm . Years and years ago we had slip lock connections available to use. These did not lock on to the hub of cannulas they just plugged the cannula. I was doing my initial assessments and walked into my pt's room and it was a blood bath. The slip lock had come loose and the patient did lose 2 units of blood based on the CBC I had drawn. What will usually happen on a PIV is that they will just clot off a central line is a different story though.

RNperdiem, RN · Oct 12, 2012

If the IV line is a central line, maybe. If the IV is a cordis (a cordis has the diamater of a coffee straw), then yes.

I once transfered my patient to a cardiac chair. His IV cordis was in his neck and the IV had become disconnected during the move and the bleeding went down his back where it wasn't obvious at first. He looked at me with a pale face and said "I think I am going to die". I summoned the group of doctors nearby and figured the problem out quickly. The man suffered no ill effects, but I am more careful about large bore IVs.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Oct 12, 2012

Blood will come back up into the tubing if using an extension, or to the cap if not unless there's something running in the IV, and then the force of the fluids will have liquid going in as opposed to blood coming out. If the end cap is not on or not on correctly, then yes, someone can bleed out the end of the IV. Always get into the habit of locking off the IV if you are not using it after flushing.

Also remote possiblity, but be careful you are not in an artery. The force of the pressure in an artery can be enough to knock a end cap loose.

Also, have not specifically seen this, but if you have some crazy high blood pressure, it could happen.....

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Oct 12, 2012

is this patient in DIC? If the cap is on appropriately it should fill up, but not leak