Top 3 Mistakes Lead to Your IV Access Failure

Oct 31, 2022 Ultrassist

Maybe you have failed a lot of times while practicing IV cannulation o & injection with a sample of the injection pad with simulated veins or an injection simulator with simulated peripheral veins. But don't give up if you still want to be a professional nurse or anesthesiologist. Realizing the top mistakes that lead to your IV access failure will promote your IV proficiency and confidence.

Mistake 1: Wrong choice of the catheter

The catheter needle system you choose is simply too short for the depth of the vein. In other words, once you're advanced the catheter in a needle and placed it inside the vein, they'll be very little of the catheter too short left inside the vein to make it stable. As soon as the tissue moves or a patient bends the hand or anything like this, there's a little tag on an IV that the catheter tends to fall outside of the vein into the subcutaneous dish.

So here's the catheter passing through the dermis and edging towards the vein. As soon as the catheter enters the vein, we will immediately see the flashback, as we call it because the blood will want to go into the expansion chamber. There is so now we know that we're inside the vein. And at this point of time, what we simply do is continue advancing the catheter lowering the angle, pulling the needle out leaving the catheter inside. But again you can see how very little of the catheter is inside the vein to make it stable. So as soon as there is any attack or traction force or the patient bends the arm, there is a really good chance that this catheter will fall outside the vein and result in a part of venus or subcutaneous infusion of the IV solution to prevent this from happening the catheter simply has to be much longer.

Perhaps by one or two centimeters longer so once you place it inside the vein you have enough leeway and enough slack so it does not fall outside of the vein.

Mistake 2: Needle-catheter system not placed deep enough into the vein

That is as soon as the flashback appears, the operator is happy with the position and tries to feed the catheter over the needle whereas, in fact, you should advance it deeper inside the vein to make sure that there is enough slack and that the catheter is inside the vein as well.

Mistake 3: Needle-catheter insertion angle too steep

Failure to advance the needle at a low angle often results in a needle passage through the vein completely and again cat replacement parabenously into the subcutaneous tissue. So that's the needle catheter system it passes through the skin now. It is in the vein and as soon as it is in a vein, we can see the flashback so the operator thinks okay we're there. And now what we need to do is we need to advance the needle and gather a system a little bit deeper, so it is inside the vein. Unfortunately, a high angle will prevent the operator from advancing it at the angle at which the catheter and the needle will stay inside the vein, the needle catheter passes through the vein and then attempted to feed the catheter clearly which will result in a catheter placement parabenously.

Above are the three most common reasons why intravenous cannulation fails. The catheter is too short. Or the catheter needle system was not placed long enough inside the lumen of the vein to allow for enough slack so that the catheter does not migrate into the subcutaneous space. The angle of the catheter needle system insertion is too steep and there is no chance to re-correct it and advanced it sufficiently long inside the lumen of the vein. Hope you become a lot better on intravenous cannulation.