CANNULATION

Question 1

LIST THE CANNULA COLOURS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING SIZES AND FUNCTIONS

Question 2

OUTLINE THE PROCEDURE FOR CANNULATION

Answer 2

The Procedure
 Protocol:
1) Collect your equipment, introduce yourself to the patient, confirm their identity, explain what you are about
to do, and obtain verbal consent.
2) Apply a tourniquet to the upper arm (preferably use the non-dominant hand), and ask the patient to open
and close their fist a few times. This will make the veins more prominent
3) Put your gloves on and swab around the potential entry site with one downwards sweep. Wait for the
alcohol to dry (it can sting when wet).
4) Select a vein which is palpable (does not have to necessarily be visible). If the cannula is for ‘long-term’ use,
then situate it away from joints. Aim to pierce the skin and vessel wall in one swift manoeuvre
5) Take the cannula and remove the plastic sheath covering the needle. Open the plastic wings. Inform the
patient that they will experience a sharp scratch. Pull the skin back distal to your entry site, and introduce the
needle into the vein at an angle of around 300
to the skin, with the bevel facing upwards. Once the needle is
in the vein, you will see a ‘flashback’ of blood into the barrel of the needle.
6) Once you see the flashback, flatten the needle (more flush with the skin) and slide the cannula a couple of
millimetres further forward. You can at this stage begin to slide the cannula further forwards into the vein,
whilst at the same time retracting the needle. Some people prefer to do this as ‘one move’, whilst others like
to nudge cannula forward then pull the needle back a bit, then repeat until the cannula is firmly in the vein.
7) Remove the tourniquet before fully retracting the needle. Before you remove the needle, take hold of the
white cap that you had previously loosened. It can be useful to place a piece of gauze just beneath the end of
the cannula and to raise the patient’s arm at this point to help minimise any chances of making a mess with
leaking blood. Then, remove the needle whilst pressing on the area of vein that you have just cannulated -
this will block the cannula and will stop blood leaking backwards prior to you capping the cannula off. Once
the needle has been removed, screw the white cap onto the end of the cannula. Nearly done!
8) Dispose of your sharps immediately - do not leave them lying around. If you produce the sharps, you must
take responsibility for disposing them off.
9) Wipe off any blood with cotton wool/gauze, and secure your cannula with the adhesive dressing. It’s easier if
you take your gloves off before you do this, or the dressing will just stick to your gloves.
10) Tell the pt. that they may feel a cool sensation running up their arm. Flush the cannula with saline. If it is
painful, or you get a swelling/bleb beneath the skin. Then the vein has ‘tissued’ (disintegrated) or your
cannula is not sited in the vein. Stop flushing and remove the cannula, applying pressure with a gauze/cotton
wool to prevent swelling.
11) If required, attach the giving set of IVF to the cannula, fill the little reservoir about three-quarters full, and
adjust the speed of the drip to run as required.
12) Set the desired infusion rate. Note time that the infusion
started, and record this on the fluid chart.
13) Thank the patient, and clear up.

Question 3

what is the indication of wide bore cannulation?

Question 4

what are the complications of cannulation