Looking for some research...

[TraumaLovinGoofball]

hey everyone,

i always get a kooky look from some of the other nurses at work when i use a 10cc syringe to draw off a fresh 24g angio that i put in (especially when the vacutainer or dripping doesn't work) ... it seems to work okay for me. i always have in the back of my head to use a 10cc syringe on a triple lumen/central cath because it does not produce as much pressure on the tubing. am i totally losing my marbles or am i correct here?

which syringe exerts more pressure .. a 3cc or a 10cc?

i found this but everyone says something different!!

"when infusing iv fluids via syringe, the key pressure issues are force and internal diameter. the hand exerts force (f) across the syringe plunger (a). applying the same force, a 3ml syringe produces a higher pressure than a 10ml syringe. " resistance and pressue in effective iv therapy, http://www.baxter.com/doctors/iv_the...ssure.html#dyn

here is the math: a 10cc syringe has a diameter (a) of 16mm. a 3cc syringe has a diameter (a) of 7mm. if, for example, the force/pressure exerted (f) is 50... then for a 10 cc syringe 50(f) divided by 16(a) = 3.125 psi. in the case of the 3cc syringe, 50 (f) divided by 7(a) = 7.15 psi.

that is the rationale for using the larger syringe for flushing... in this case, bigger is better.

any comments?

[morte, LPN, LVN]

my thought would be ...take a 24g cath....sans the stilette (sp)..put a 10 ml syringe on it and see if it collapses....then try a 3ml syringe, then a 1ml syringe.....i think sometimes we need to find our own "evidence".