Location, location, location
22 August 2009Just a quick reminder to all of you using IO as backup to IV access that when accessing the tibia, the needle is supposed to go into the GIANT FLAT AREA with practically no overlying tissue, which is on the MEDIAL side. That’s the side closer to the other leg.
Not that this happened to any patients of mine. Just a reminder. (It honestly wasn’t a patient of mine–it was somebody else’s but I happened to be helping out during the initial resuscitation.)
The Vidacare company – the people who make the EZ-IO – have not one, but two ways to try to get people to remember it’s the medial side.
First is the rather catchy, but albeit very self-serving, phrase, “Big Toe – Go EZ-IO”.
The other is the more generic, “If you want to get in – think in!”.
I’ll leave the “That’s what she said jokes” aside but clearly this is a bigger training issue than one might think!
I like the first one–it could be easily modified to: “IO? Big toe.”