Help me with homework?

[uglyjon]

I have some homework that the teacher wanted us to find the answers outside of the book, I cannot find them. You don't have to give me the answers but I am not quite getting the questions. They are more geared at paramedics than EMT's but our instructor has said it is good for us to know.

How long can you safely stop an IV drip?

Name three signs to look for at the site of an IV that is not dripping.

What would you tell a patient whose IV you plan to discontinue?

If circulatory overload occurs, name some things the EMT can do to assist the Patient. (on this one I have assist with ventilations, right?)

 

[Mariemt]

Many states EMTs can monitor IVs, so it isn't out of line to be asked this for a state EMT homework

 

[uglyjon]

Could you point me in the right direction? I can't seem to find anything on the googles

 

[EMT B]

http://nursing411.org/Courses/MD0553_Intravenous_Infusions/1-08_Intravenous_Infusions.html

clicky for a powerpoint

both of these will have more information than what you need to know, however, you will find all your answers in here.

 

[VFlutter]

How long can you safely stop an IV drip?

This is a dumb question. It is totally dependent on what the drip is. There is a difference between stopping a Protonix drip versus a Vasopressin drip on your GI bleed patient.

If circulatory overload occurs, name some things the EMT can do to assist the Patient. (on this one I have assist with ventilations, right?)

There are things you can do before it becomes necessary to assist ventilation.

 

[NomadicMedic]

This is a dumb question. It is totally dependent on what the drip is. There is a difference between stopping a Protonix drip versus a Vasopressin drip on your GI bleed patient.

It's an EMT class. Assume it's simply a crystalloid. Nobody's going to let an EMT manage a vasopressin drip.

 

[NBFFD2433]

It's an EMT class. Assume it's simply a crystalloid. Nobody's going to let an EMT manage a vasopressin drip.

I agree

 

[Akulahawk]

I have some homework that the teacher wanted us to find the answers outside of the book, I cannot find them. You don't have to give me the answers but I am not quite getting the questions. They are more geared at paramedics than EMT's but our instructor has said it is good for us to know.

How long can you safely stop an IV drip?

Name three signs to look for at the site of an IV that is not dripping.

What would you tell a patient whose IV you plan to discontinue?

If circulatory overload occurs, name some things the EMT can do to assist the Patient. (on this one I have assist with ventilations, right?)

Since you're referring to EMT, I'm going to assume we're talking NS or LR, and everything "IV" means those fluids... unless otherwise specified.

How long can an IV drip be stopped safely? Only as long as it takes the blood to clot and occlude the lumen of the catheter. Now then, I've used saline locks... but those have to be flushed every 8 hours.
Name 3 signs to look for if the IV is not dripping... well, I'm going to ask you a question. If the IV clamp is open (because we're talking IV site here...) and fluid should be going in, where would any fluid go if the catheter isn't in the vein and what happens to the tissues?
If circulatory overload happens... well, ventilating is a bit down the list. Look up pulmonary edema and/or hypervolemia.

 

[Household6]

I have some homework that the teacher wanted us to find the answers outside of the book, I cannot find them. You don't have to give me the answers but I am not quite getting the questions. They are more geared at paramedics than EMT's but our instructor has said it is good for us to know.

How long can you safely stop an IV drip?

Name three signs to look for at the site of an IV that is not dripping.

What would you tell a patient whose IV you plan to discontinue?

If circulatory overload occurs, name some things the EMT can do to assist the Patient. (on this one I have assist with ventilations, right?).

I like how they're specific about WHERE to look ---at the site on the IV.. I mean, if I had an IV that wasn't dripping, the first thing I would do is look at the line, right? Check it for kinks, bends.. Idk if that's the answer they want, they want you to look at the site.

What do you suppose would be odd things at the IV site? Obviously, infiltration, right? How can you tell if an IV is infiltrated? There's more than three things you could list... How about the temperature of the IV site when you touch it? Should it be hot? Cold? What about fluid leaking out to the outside? Do you suppose that an infiltrated IV might cause the surrounding skin to be a different color since it displaces blood?

As far as circulatory overload, can you think of where the excess fluid will go? It's gonna back up somewhere in the body.. A couple things are going to happen.. One, you have a fluid overload in the body. What do you suppose will happen to the pt's BP? It's gonna jump up pretty high, you're going to have a hypertensive patient. And like Akulahawk said, pulmonary edema.. That fluid has to go somewhere, it will probably end up in the lungs.

Why do you think it would end up in the lungs instead of in the lower extremities?

So now you have a hypertensive patient with some fluid in the lungs.. Sounds kind of like a CHF patient huh? How do you treat a Congestive Heart Failure patient? How do you position them? I don't think you need to jump right to assisting ventilations, but they certainly will need O2..

What do you think?