Cannulation and Venepuncture Flashcards
What is venepuncture?
Taking venous blood sample to aid diagnosis and treatment
What is cannulation?
Inserting small plastic tube into a vein that can subsequently be used to deliver fluids or meds to patient
What is asepsis?
Absence of bacteria, viruses etc
What are blood cultures?
Taking venous blood sample to send to microbiology to look for presence of infection causing organisms
What does ANTT stand for?
Aseptic no touch technique
What is ANTT?
Standardised technique for achieving asepsis during invasive procedures
How many patients are harmed by sepsis every year?
Around 250,000
When would standard ANTT be chosen?
If procedure is uncomplicated and short (<20 mins)
What are 7 characteristics of a good vein?
- Soft
- Straight
- Visibile
- Refillable
- Spongy
- Bouncy
- Supported
What is a tourniquet used for?
Helps visualise vessels
What should a tourniquet be?
- Latex free
- Single use
- Quick, one handed release
What is danger of leaving tourniquet on longer than 1 min?
Pressure can cause potassium to leak into blood –> incorrect results
What are potential complications of venous puncture?
- Bruising
- Infection
- Miss vein
- Thromboembolism
- Hit artery/tendon/nerve
- Haematoma
What is haematoma?
a localised bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillaries.
When is haematoma most likely?
If patient on anticoagulation
When would blood cultures be required instead of only venepuncture?
- If infection is suspected
- Pyrexia of unknown origin
- Signs of sepsis
What is cannulation used for?
Deliver IV fluids/meds, blood transfusion
What items are required during venepuncture?
- Apron, non sterile gloves, handgel
- Tourniquet, chloraprep, vacutainer device, blood bottles
- Gauze/cotton wool, kidney dish, sharps bin
What is pyrexia?
raised body temperature; fever.
What items are required during cannulation?
Apron, STERILE gloves, handgel
Tourniquet, drawing up needle, cannula, vacutainer adapter, safe site connection device
10ml syringe, 10 mls 0.9% saline
Cannulation pack (chloraprep, gauze etc)
Sharps bin
What gloves are needed during cannulation?
Sterile
What gloves are needed during venepuncture?
non sterile
Describe saline used in cannulation
10 mls 0.9% saline
What is purpose of saline flush during cannulation?
Method of clearing intravenous lines (IVs), central lines or arterial lines to keep the lines (tubes) and entry area clean and sterile.
Blood left in the cannula or hub can lead to clots forming and blocking the cannula.
Flushing is used after medications are delivered to ensure all the drug is delivered fully. If multiple medications are given through the same line, flushing can be used in between drugs to ensure that the medicines won’t react.
