Air Embolism
The culture of "a little air won't hurt you" is as outdated as the Model T Ford, and it is time to stop perpetuating this misguided belief on future generations of health care workers - Gerard J Myers RT CCP
image by: Khao Lak Scuba Adventures
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How Lucky Do You Feel When Air Bubbles Are In Your Intravenous Line?
When was the last time you, or one of your loved ones, was in a hospital bed with an intravenous line attached to your arm and a bag of intravenous fluid hanging from an IV pole beside you?
Perhaps when the bag of fluid began to empty, a health care worker entered the room to hang another bag of the lifesaving liquid, or maybe just attach a smaller bag of medication to run into you intravenous line. As she/he changed the bag and adjusted the drips on your IV line you sat silently in deep thought about when you were getting out of the hospital or what you had to do that day. But out of the corner of your eye you noticed a large bubble of air slowly advancing down your IV line toward…
Resources
Management
Entrainment of air into the venous or arterial system as a result of direct communication and a pressure gradient. Venous air can enter from blunt or penetrating trauma, central venous catheter manipulation, intravenous contrast injections, and surgery (e.g., ophthalmologic, neurosurgical, dental procedures and cesarean delivery).
Everything you need to know about air bubbles in your patient’s IV line.
In most cases, it will require at least 50 mL of air to result in significant risk to life, however, there are case studies in which 20 mLs or less of air rapidly infused into the patients circulation has resulted in a fatal air embolism. So, you can be assured that it usually requires a large volume of air in the line to produce a life threatening risk of air embolism. Much more than we see typically see with those small air bubbles appearing in the IV line.
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But it's not just STIs that are a concern when it comes to cunnilingus. As the Mayo Clinic notes, your partner has to be careful not to blow into the vagina during oral sex because the enlarged blood vessels are at an increased risk for an air embolism — basically, an air bubble that could affect your and/or your fetus' cardiovascular systems.
How a Harrowing Photo of One Woman's Death Became an Iconic Pro-Choice Symbol
People knew of Geraldine "Gerri" Santoro's cause of death—an air embolism caused by a back-alley abortion—before they ever knew her name.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Indications: Air or Gas Embolism
Causes of gas embolism other than diving include accidental intravenous air injection,cardiopulmonary bypass accidents, needle biopsy of the lung, hemodialysis, central venous catheter placement or disconnection, gastrointestinal endoscopy, hydrogen peroxide irrigation or ingestion, arthroscopy, cardiopulmonary resuscitation,(36) percutaneous hepatic puncture, blowing air into the vagina during orogenital sex and sexual intercourse after childbirth.
Venous air embolism related to the use of central catheters revisited: with emphasis on dialysis catheters
Venous air embolism is a dreaded condition particularly relevant to the field of nephrology. In the face of a favourable, air-to-blood pressure gradient and an abnormal communication between the atmosphere and the veins, air entrance into the circulation is common and can bring about venous air embolism.
How Lucky Do You Feel When Air Bubbles Are In Your Intravenous Line?
The culture of "a little air won't hurt you" is as outdated as the Model T Ford, and it is time to stop perpetuating this misguided belief on future generations of health care workers ... and especially patients with IV lines in place.
Gas Embolism
Arterial gas embolism is a major cause of death in diving and the initiating cause (pulmonary barotrauma) usually goes undetected. Caused most often by the expansion of respiratory gases during ascent,
Scuba Diving and Air Embolism
The primary causes for air embolism other than Scuba diving is through air entering the bloodstream during surgery, massive trauma, air bubbles in injections, and intravenous feeds. The severity of air embolism depends upon on the size of the air bubbles in the bloodstream.
Vascular air embolism
It can occur iatrogenically via interventional procedures but has also been described as a complication from a variety of circumstances ranging from blunt and penetrating trauma to diving and child birth. The physiologic effects that result depend on the volume of air that has entered the system.
NHS
An air or gas embolism can happen when a scuba diver surfaces too quickly from any depth. This can cause air to escape into the blood vessels from the lungs (pulmonary barotrauma) or bubbles of nitrogen to form in the blood vessels (decompression illness, or "the bends").
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