Problems can include pain and discomfort, leakage from the cannula onto your skin or below the skin, blockages, or germs getting into your bloodstream causing infection. Keep your hands clean by washing with soap or using sanitiser.
Cannula insertion is painful and causes distress to patients. The risks associated with it include infection, phlebitis and infiltration.
Complications include infection, phlebitis and thrombophlebitis, emboli, pain, haematoma or haemorrhage, extravasation, arterial cannulation and needlestick injuries.
pain where your IV line is. redness or swelling near the IV line. crusting or scabbing appears on skin near your IV line. oozing fluid, blood or pus from where the IV line goes through your skin.
It has previously been known as septicemia or blood poisoning. Sepsis can be caused by any type of infection in the body, such as a chest infection which causes pneumonia, a urine infection, an infected cut or bite, an infection in a cannula, or a wound following surgery.
It should heal within a couple of weeks. Your provider will wait to use the vein for any further needle insertions until it's healed.
Despite its benefits and frequent use, intravenous cannulation has complications that can seriously threaten patient safety such as clotting, occlusion, leakage, infiltration, extravasation, phlebitis, and infection [4]. Furthermore, it is the main source of procedure-related pain in hospitalized patients [5].
Infiltration is the most common complication for peripheral IVs, occurring 24% of the time on average. (1) Infiltration occurs from erosion or penetration of the catheter into or through the vein wall. It results in the infusion of medicine into the surrounding soft tissues as can be seen in the image to the right.
Abstract. Peripheral venous cannulation is one of the commonest procedures performed in hospitals. The dorso-lateral aspect of the wrist is one of the favourite sites. Radial nerve injury, though extremely rare, can be a serious complication and has been reported twice.
infection – this can happen when the cannula is left in too long, or when the cannula is handled without washing the hands first (this happens occasionally) catheter embolism – this happens if a part of the cannula gets broken off by the needle and travels through the bloodstream (this is rare).
Superficial thrombophlebitis is an inflammation of a vein just below the surface of the skin, which results from a blood clot. This condition may occur after recently using an IV line, or after trauma to the vein.
o The cannula must be kept dry. o If you see redness or swelling at the entry point, or there is pain when fluid or medication is put through, this may indicate infection (this must be dealt with promptly, so please tell us). resolved by removing the cannula.
Air embolism has been reported with insertion or removal of intravenous catheters at an estimated incidence of 1 in 47 to 1 in 3000. Though the risk of air introduction is present with any vascular intervention,8 few cases of air embolism have been reported from intravenous access alone.
The various risk factors studied were age, sex, size of cannula, site of insertion, hand washing and use of gloves etc. The IV site was studied prospectively for the presence and absence of phlebitis till the cannula remained in situ. Visual Infusion Phlebitis Scale was used to assess the grade of phlebitis.
Prevention: Confirm IV patency during IV therapy. Recheck IV patency before medication administration. Use IV securement devices to stabilize IV insertion sites. Avoid areas of flexion and always assess IV sites before, during, and after infusing IV fluids or medications.
There is no limit to the length of time that a cannula may remain in situ and with appropriate care, several days may be possible. Cannulas only need to be replaced when there is accidental dislodgement, occlusion, Phlebitis and infection.
Blown Vein: Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms of a blown vein include discolored skin around the injection site, bruising, swelling, localized pain, and a stinging sensation. A similar condition to a blown vein is a collapsed vein.
The nerve damage caused by IV insertion and/or venipuncture can be permanent and severe. Some patients lose feeling in hand and through arm or experience periodic or constant burning sensations. IV nerve damage can also occur in the central nervous system line and in the neck, but usually occurs in the arm and hand.
The good news is that yes, veins can heal themselves, however, only to a certain degree. When veins are damaged they can take years to repair. Even when this occurs, healed veins never recover completely. At most, a damaged vein will only ever regain a portion of its previous blood-circulating capabilities.
The use of intravenous (IV) cannulas is an integral part of patient care in hospitals. These intravenous cannulas are a potential route for microorganisms to enter the blood stream resulting in a variety of local or systemic infections.
Causes of cellulitis
Many conditions, events or procedures can cause this, including cracked skin due to dryness, eczema or tinea pedis, cuts or penetrating wounds, burns, insect bites or stings, surgery and IV cannulation.