iv pump says air in line how to fix....

[selu1216]

the air bubble was located just below the chamber and right above where the iv tubing feeds into the machine (it was a zosyn piggyback 100 cc hung as a primary iv with primary tubing-which also i dont understand because i thought it had to be hung as a secondary with some sort of maintenance fluid) unfortunately i wasnt able to see what my nurse did to fix it as i am a new student nurse and had to step aside to perform another task

[kids]

You can clamp the tubing, pull it out of the pump and stretch and flick the tubing to move small bubbles back up into the chamber.

You didn't really provide enough information to comment on the running the Zosyn as a primary vs. piggyback. There are a lot of factors that come in to play many of them based on compatibility, experience, the pump being used and policy. The best advice I can give is that sometimes the book isn't the only way to do something.

[loriangel14, RN]

I guess it depends on the pump. Ours have a back prime button. You hold it and it back primes the fluid, taking the air bubble with it.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

This is "after" the chamber, but if some air gets below the pump for some reason , you can use a syringe and one of the access ports, and pull the air bubble out as it comes by (start to withdraw about an inch from the port entry into the main line). BUT- it takes quite a bit of air to hurt someone. I still liked to get it out, but it's not the end of the world in an adult to have a bit of air get by :)