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I V
S T A R T S
IV Insertion in a Patient
With Excellent Veins
they leave your facility, no
matter how successful their
surgeries. Make sure
patients never complain
about IVs again with these 6
proven steps for first-sticksuccess, which I've developed from starting more
A
than 20,000 lines throughout my career.
1
Position the
patient
Lay the patient down
in supine and horizontal
positions because blood
B
will pool where gravity
takes it. If patients are sitting upright or with their
legs dangling, blood will
pool in dependent regions,
such as the veins of the
legs, rather than the veins
C
of the upper extremities
where you're looking.
(A) Injecting 1% lidocaine with a 30-gauge needle.
(B) The proper position of the left thumb,
2
Locate the vein
Apply a standard
rubber tourniquet to
the upper arm. An elastic
retracting the skin distal to the vein.
(C) Advancing the catheter into the vein using the right
hand, while the left thumb remains fixed in its original
position.
tourniquet is commonly
1 2
— Richard Novak, MD
SUPPLEMENT
TO
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E | J U LY 2013
