emDocs - August 15, 2019 - By Bloom J
Edited by: DeVivo A., Koyfman A., Long B and Singh M
"Pearls and Pitfalls- Patients come in all shapes and sizes. If your patient has excessive subcutaneous or adipose tissue over your preferred site, you may have to choose an alternative site.
- Position for success! Make sure the extremity or site is visible, angled advantageously, and supported. Use bedrolls/sheets or fellow personnel to assist you with this.
- Avoid needlestick injuries! IO catheters and stylets/trocars are still sharps and can injure the proceduralist. Make sure your hand is not directly behind the insertion site, as a misplaced IO can bypass or completely penetrate the extremity and cause injury.
- It is very easy to forget to secure an IO during a busy resuscitation. Although they don’t slip out as easily as an IV, an IO can fall out, and if it does replacement likely needs to be in a different extremity to avoid infiltration. Tape down your IO securely!
- In a resuscitated patient, make sure that any IO access is clearly indicated and discussed with receiving providers during handoff. When receiving a resuscitated patient, examine carefully for the presence of an IO on the extremities or sternum.
- Anecdotally the proximal humerus is favored by many practitioners because of its theoretical faster infusion rates and utility in cases of abdominopelvic or lower extremity compromise9,29. The proximal tibia is frequently easier to palpate and available in patients of all ages. You should feel comfortable inserting an IO in at least two different sites and should be familiar with all of them."