I had a rather unusual question posed to me on a questionairre for a home health agency. What would you do if a the tip of the cannula came off in the vein? I have researched and found no answer.....if I was in a hospital setting the Dr. would be called. In a home health setting - I am at a loss! Any ideas???
I would have answered it this way:
Whether it was an immediate find (you were present when the tip broke off), or a delayed discovery, I'd treat it the same way. I would place a tourniquet on the upper extremity, right below the shoulder, and dial 911!
Have the pt. remain still and assess pulse to determine that you haven't occluded arterial circulation. Treat symptoms until EMS arrives to transport to hospital.
Once in the hospital, if I was successful in stopping the progression of the cannula with the tourniquet, the MD may only have to do a cutdown to retrieve it, otherwise, a special snare device is usually used to get the fragment from wherever it ended up.
Thats my take!