IV gtts and arterial line

[Kate96]

If you have an arterial line and IV gtts going do you need to stop them to draw blood from arterial line? Will the arterial line blood be contaminated if you draw the sample while the IV drips are running? Thank you. 

[KeepinitrealCCRN]

Nope.  The IV drips have nothing to do with your arterial line blood draw.

[Guest219794]

Curious- how might they get contaminated?  

[BeatsPerMinute, BSN, RN]

no. maybe if you use a needle and syringe in one area and then use the same materials to draw a sample from an a-line... then you can contaminate things.

never do that. keep it clean. 

if you wanted to know something about the patients therapeutic hep level and had to draw from the same (venous) catheter, then maybe you could put heparin on hold for X amt of time (with MD permission), pull the med outta the line too, and waste a good amt for accurate results. no reason that I can see how drawing a sample from an a-line would = issues while other drips are running, unless im missing something? 

[marienm, RN, CCRN]

It will not get contaminated (they're in totally different vessels, even if they happen to enter the body at similar locations such as a femoral CVC and A-line on the same side of the groin).  Pausing your pressors that are running through your CVC to draw blood from your A-line is a good way to tank your patient's blood pressure; I'd suggest that you NOT get in the habit of pausing your venous fluids at all when drawing from an A-line.  (If your patient doesn't have an A-line and you are drawing from a CVC then you do need to pause all fluids on all lumens.)

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

Drips run through veins. 
Art lines are in arteries.

There is no contamination and you certainly shouldn't stop them to draw arterial blood samples.

[Mr. Murse]

On 10/20/2021 at 9:36 PM, BeatsPerMinute said:

if you wanted to know something about the patients therapeutic hep level and had to draw from the same (venous) catheter, then maybe you could put heparin on hold for X amt of time (with MD permission), pull the med outta the line too, and waste a good amt for accurate results.

I've brought this topic up on its own thread before, but I'm wondering why you think heparin needs to be held to draw a PTT? obviously if you're drawing from a different lumen of the same PICC (or CVC, etc) as the heparin gtt then you would pause it briefly so you're not literally drawing up heparin out of the in flow, but what is the rationale behind pausing a heparin drip for X amount of time to draw a PTT? I have yet to hear any rationale for this common nursing practice, and have been told by various docs and pharmacists that it's unnecessary.

Given the short half life of heparin you're actually getting an inaccurate therapeutic PTT if you're pausing for 10-15 min before drawing, as is common practice.