critical care medicine
How To Do Radial Artery Cannulation
Warnings and Common Errors for Radial Artery Cannulation
Not carefully determining the exact center of the pulse makes it more likely to miss the artery. Sliding your finger from side to side as you attempt to locate the point of maximum pulsation may give an inaccurate result; lift and reposition your finger laterally to each new location. If the artery is not entered when the needle has reached an appropriate depth, do not try to reposition the needle by moving the tip to one side or another; this can damage tissue. Instead, withdraw the needle almost to the skin surface before changing the angle and direction of insertion. Never inject drugs into an arterial line. During cardiopulmonary arrest or other conditions of low blood pressure and hypoxia, arterial blood may be dark and not pulsatile and may be mistaken for venous blood. 