Any kid who has ever drank a Slurpee too fast on a warm day, and found themselves shivering and chilled, knows that cold fluids can be remarkably effective at cooling the human body. I had this leason reinforced while I was working as a consultant for a bio-tech company. 
The company was looking for methods to induce and maintain therapeutic hypothermia.
I can disclose much about the different methods and results that the engineering team experimented with, but I will tell you this, if you want to drop someones core temperature fast, nothing is quite as effective as a quick, two litter bolus of cold saline. This is why most therapeutic hypothermia protocols begin by inducing hypothermia, not with some fancy cooling blanket or external cooling device, but an infusion of 37 degree saline.
With that thought in mind, how important should it be to keep the saline we infuse into our patients whom we want to keep warm at something close to body temperature? I hadn’t really given the question much thought until I got an email from Scott.
Scott’s one of those SWAT medic types. He works with his local SWAT team to provide on site medical interventions if the need arises. Scott had an interesting experience with an accidental infusion of ice cold saline. I’ll let Scott take it from here:
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Did you get the IV?
Sometimes it seems like your performance on the whole call can be reduced to the success or failure of the IV start. Rarely does the successful treatment of the patient hinge on a successful IV placement but sometimes it can certainly feel that way.
The best way to ensure that you’re ready when that make or break it IV start does come your way is to start a lot of them when the pressure is not on. If you wait until game day to practice, you’re a whole lot more likely to fail.
The single biggest factor that separates the IV virtuoso from the weekend hacker is practice and experience, so when the patient could use an IV, jump in there. The patient’s a kid. … Get in there. The patient is a frail, elderly woman on Coumadin. … Get in there. IVs are nothing to fear. Start practicing these six IV start tips. Before you know it, you’ll be an IV starting superstar.
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One of the nice perks I’ve found to blogging is that every now and then I get to rant. This piece might fit into that rant category. Not necessarily the full blown, foot stompin’, leave the caps lock key on, kind of rant, but a rant none the less.
I’ve started a bunch of IVs. Some were really good. Some were, I can’t believe I got that, there must have been some divine intervention involved, good. Of course I never say anything like that at the time. I tape it down nonchalantly and act like I get the hard ones all the time.
I’ve had my share of bad ones as well. I’ve missed IVs in veins so big that I should have been able to throw the needle dart style and still hit the vein. I’ve chased veins across peoples arms and left them with bruises to remember me by for weeks to come. I’m not proud of it, but I’ll take ownership of it. IVs aren’t my favorite thing to do. I didn’t become a caregiver because I liked causing people discomfort with needles. (Though some of my patients have seemed convinced otherwise.)
Along the way I’ve picked up some pet peeves about starting IVs and I’d like to share them with you. This is a list of my top four, please don’t do this, IV pet peeves.
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