For those of you using Sapiens (or any BARD rep out there), what would we see in the P wave if we are in an artery and threading the PICC up the vessel? I know all the ways of identifying an artery - this is a question from our physicians. Would the P wave just not spike?
There are several articles that have looked at this exact issue withi ECG technology only. You are correct, there is a p-wave elevation even though the catheter is arterial instead of venous. So no real way of verifying arterial or venous by looking at the ECG tracing only.
Cheryl Kelley RN BSN, VA-BC
I agree with Cheryl. I am in the middle of reading several articles on this issue. I have found several that reported arterial placement with similar P wave changes. So we can not rely on ECG to rule out arterial placement. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861