fluids
Education
Break Down Intake And Output (I&Os)
As a cardiac anesthesiologist and cardiovascular intensivist, I routinely care for perioperative cardiac surgery patients in my OR and ICU practices. If I were to look at the "I&Os" (intake and output) to estimate...
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Education
Hyponatremia Correction For Hyperglycemia
Sodium is the primary cation (positive-charged ion) in the extracellular space. Therefore, dilutional hyponatremia can occur if free water is added to the extracellular space from fluid shifts and infusions.
Let's look at this basic...
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Medical
Intravenous Fluid Comparison Table
Intravenous (IV) fluids are ubiquitous in medicine. Crystalloid fluids consist of electrolytes and/or dextrose. They are traditionally used to replace ongoing fluid losses, hydrate patients who cannot tolerate enteral intake, reconstitute medications, etc. Colloids...
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Medical
Banana Bag
The "banana bag" is a colloquial term referring to isotonic crystalloid fluid premixed with thiamine, folic acid, and a multivitamin (which creates the characteristic yellow coloration). Some clinicians opt for a banana bag when...
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Medical
Why Does Albumin Create Foam?
If you've ever administered albumin, you've undoubtedly seen bubbles and foam while infusing this colloid solution. As the volume of albumin decreases in a fixed container (e.g., glass bottle), a vacuum effect is generated...
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Medical
Overnight Fluid Boluses For A “Low MAP”
2 AM: “Hey doc, the patient’s MAP (mean arterial pressure) has been in the high 50s for the last hour. Urine output isn’t that great either. Wanna bolus some fluid?”
This knee-jerk reaction is a...
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Medical
Stopcock In Blood Warmer Tubing
Over the years, I've used many types of fluid warmers from rapid infusers like the Belmont and Level 1 to more conventional products like the Ranger series. The priming process is somewhat different for...
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