ACEP Now - January 22, 2021 - By Christopher Sampson
"When you’re in an adult code and intravenous (IV) access can’t be obtained, the first option we reflexively go to is intraosseous (IO) access. Anyone who has practiced emergency medicine for more than a decade knows that was not always the case. In the 1980s, IO access was introduced as a standard of care by the American Heart Association as a component of pediatric advanced life support. During the decade or two that followed, IO access was mainly reserved for use in the pediatric population as an alternative to IV access. But in the early 2000s, its use in the adult population began to rise. The introduction of IO drills and use by the military helped increase adult use...
Myth 1: The proximal tibia is the only location for insertion.
Myth 2: Only medications and crystalloid solutions can be infused through an IO.
Myth 3: IO infusions are too slow, and pressure bags can’t be used.
Myth 4: IO access is hard to obtain.
Myth 5: There are no complications to placement of an IO.
Myth 6: IO doesn’t hurt."