PIV air in tubing

mama_d, BSN, RN · May 30, 2009

She was right...it takes much more than the small amount you'll sometimes get in lines to cause problems. I'll look around and see if I can find a specific number. Many patients get freaked out by it, especially since tugging on the line when it's in the pump can cause bubbles, so it happens all the time. My pat answer to them is "It would take more than this whole tube of air to harm you."

If it makes you feel any better, keep in mind that in TEE's we regularly inject the patient with about 5 cc's of air mixed with 5 cc's NS in one bubbly fast push.

mesa14 · May 30, 2009

Thanks-

The patient didn't even see it and I made sure to talk to the nurse without him knowing so that he didn't get freaked out. That makes me feel a lot better, its just that when u r a student u learn everything textbook style and I worry when I can't provide care in this "perfect world" manner.

Thanks again

CuriousMe · May 31, 2009

Thanks-
The patient didn't even see it and I made sure to talk to the nurse without him knowing so that he didn't get freaked out. That makes me feel a lot better, its just that when u r a student u learn everything textbook style and I worry when I can't provide care in this "perfect world" manner.
Thanks again

I can't remember the number our instructor gave us when we were learning about IV's in lab......but we worked it out and it would have to be a large portion of the primary line to cause trouble.

Of course we should always try to get rid of any big bubbles we see....but the take home message was that if a few small bubbles get by, it will be fine.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 31, 2009

mesa14. . .let me set your mind at ease. it takes well over 1cc of air to do anyone damage. 1cc of air is a lot of air. as an iv therapist i saw a lot of nurses get all kinds of air bubbles in iv tubings and never had a patient suffer any ill misfortune as a result. just a lot of sloppy nursing technique.

there is a previous thread about this: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/iv-air-bubble-190642.html. while it is always good practice to try not to get air bubbles into iv lines and saline locks, it does happen and small ones will not hurt the patient. the blood in the veins makes its way to ever enlarging vessels which end at the right vena cava of the heart. the turbulence in the right vena cava breaks apart the air bubbles so they get even smaller than the size they started out. the first place an air bubble is going to get trapped is in the pulmonary network. however, after being shaken up in the right atrium and right ventricle a small bubble really is reduced to something smaller than a rbc.

in the thread above, i believe we talked about air embolism, a complication of central lines. air bubbles of significant amounts get sucked into the right vena cava though an accidentally opened central iv port and that air bubble has to be isolated in the apex of the right ventricle stat or the patient will be a goner. that is done by turned the patient onto their left side and placing them in reverse trendelenburg (head down). remember air floats up and that is exactly where we want that air bubble to "float" to the highest point of the heart which will now be the apex of the right ventricle (with the patient on the left side, head down).

mesa14 · May 31, 2009

Thanks everyone, I feel better :)

*ac* · May 31, 2009

mesa14. . .let me set your mind at ease. it takes well over 1cc of air to do anyone damage. 1cc of air is a lot of air. as an iv therapist i saw a lot of nurses get all kinds of air bubbles in iv tubings and never had a patient suffer any ill misfortune as a result. just a lot of sloppy nursing technique.
there is a previous thread about this: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/iv-air-bubble-190642.html. while it is always good practice to try not to get air bubbles into iv lines and saline locks, it does happen and small ones will not hurt the patient. the blood in the veins makes its way to ever enlarging vessels which end at the right vena cava of the heart. the turbulence in the right vena cava breaks apart the air bubbles so they get even smaller than the size they started out. the first place an air bubble is going to get trapped is in the pulmonary network. however, after being shaken up in the right atrium and right ventricle a small bubble really is reduced to something smaller than a rbc.
in the thread above, i believe we talked about air embolism, a complication of central lines. air bubbles of significant amounts get sucked into the right vena cava though an accidentally opened central iv port and that air bubble has to be isolated in the apex of the right ventricle stat or the patient will be a goner. that is done by turned the patient onto their left side and placing them in reverse trendelenburg (head down). remember air floats up and that is exactly where we want that air bubble to "float" to the highest point of the heart which will now be the apex of the right ventricle (with the patient on the left side, head down).

daytonite, in the previous thread you referenced, you said the pt should be placed with the hob elevated, and that the goal was to float the air bubble to the atrium.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 31, 2009

Daytonite, in the previous thread you referenced, you said the pt should be placed with the hob elevated, and that the goal was to float the air bubble to the atrium.

Are you talking about the Air Bubble Compensation thread? That was a few years ago! I don't remember what I wrote then. I am sure someone corrected me. It was either a typo or a mistake. I keep the link to the thread in a file because the question about air bubbles gets asked occasionally, so I post it.

beth66335, BSN, RN · May 31, 2009

Yes, the correction is in post #14

madnurse2b · May 31, 2009

mesa14. . .let me set your mind at ease. it takes well over 1cc of air to do anyone damage. 1cc of air is a lot of air. as an iv therapist i saw a lot of nurses get all kinds of air bubbles in iv tubings and never had a patient suffer any ill misfortune as a result. just a lot of sloppy nursing technique.
there is a previous thread about this: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/iv-air-bubble-190642.html. while it is always good practice to try not to get air bubbles into iv lines and saline locks, it does happen and small ones will not hurt the patient. the blood in the veins makes its way to ever enlarging vessels which end at the right vena cava of the heart. the turbulence in the right vena cava breaks apart the air bubbles so they get even smaller than the size they started out. the first place an air bubble is going to get trapped is in the pulmonary network. however, after being shaken up in the right atrium and right ventricle a small bubble really is reduced to something smaller than a rbc.
in the thread above, i believe we talked about air embolism, a complication of central lines. air bubbles of significant amounts get sucked into the right vena cava though an accidentally opened central iv port and that air bubble has to be isolated in the apex of the right ventricle stat or the patient will be a goner. that is done by turned the patient onto their left side and placing them in reverse trendelenburg (head down). remember air floats up and that is exactly where we want that air bubble to "float" to the highest point of the heart which will now be the apex of the right ventricle (with the patient on the left side, head down).

thank you - i struggled at first with getting every itsy bitsy little air bubble out before hooking someone up. my instructor kept trying to get me to understand the amount was waay more. that explanation helped very much - thanks.