Arterial Lines Flashcards
2 purposes of arterial lines
- provide a real time blood pressure
2. arterial lines provide constant access blood samples to send for lab results
what is the catheter size for radial/brachial used for adults?
20 ga
what is the catheter size for femoral used for adults?
18 ga
what is the catheter size for pediatrics
20-22 ga
what is the catheter size for used for neonates?
22-24 ga
automatic bp machines tend to __(under read or over read) systolic bp and tend to ___ (under read or over read) diastolic bp
under read; over read
arterial lines which is most likely to be elevated?
systolic bp
Name the 5 materials for the pressure transducer system
- 500 ml NS bag
- arterial line tubing (noncompliant tubing) that contains a pressure transducer
- pressure transducer cable
- pressure bag for 500 ml NS bag
- transducer holder
what does the transducer do?
tells you how many mm Hg are generated with each pulse
why use heparinized saline?
system less likely to clot
what would happen if you did not use a pressurized bag ?
blood from the artery would back up into the tubing
what is the purpose of pressurized bag?
when the 500 mL NS is pressurized it exceeds arterial pressure and ALLOWS TO FLUSH FLUID INTO ARTERY
how do you flush an arterial line?
open the roller clamp and compressing the wings on the transducer
when should you flush fluids into an artery?
immediately after drawing blood labs from arterial line
what could happen if drugs are given the arterial route?
intense vasoconstriction and ischemia
what are the 4 possible reasons an arterial line wont flush?
- the stopcocks could be turned off to the line
- the pressure bag is under pressurized
- the roller clamp on the aline tubing could be closed
- the aline catheter could be clotted off
what pressure should the bag be pressurized?
300 mm Hg
how much fluid per hour will drip into the artery?
3-6 mL
what is the purpose of zeroing the arterial line?
eliminating the effect of atmospheric pressure has on bp reading
what should you change on the monitor for zeroing the transducer?
change from standard to arterial line tracing 8 wave
what could happen if the stopcock is turned the wrong direction off towards the transducer instead of patient?
it will bleed back and the pt could bleed to death
what should you do once the monitor shows a 0?
turn the stopcock off to the atmosphere again THEN put cap back on stopcock
7 things required for cannulating the artery
- chloraprep
- gauze
- tegaderm
- tape
- plastic “wrist support”
- lidocaine “skin wheel”
- angiocath
what are the two catheter options for cannulating the artery?
- 20 ga arrow catheter
2. 20 ga regular catheter
2 options for an Aline wrist extender
- plastic “wrist support”
2. rolled up towel under the wrist
how do you calculate MAP with a line waveform?
area under the pressure curve
correlates with cardiac contractility
upstroke
what indicates good cardiac contractility?
sharp vertical upstroke
correlates with SVR
downstroke
a slow fall or high SVR indicates ___
vasoconstriction