🩺 𝑵𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝑿𝒄𝒆𝒍™

Intravenous (IV) therapy is an essential component of modern healthcare, enabling the delivery of fluids, medications, and nutrients directly into a patient’s bloodstream. As common as this procedure is, one critical step that often determines its success is the act of flushing the IV line before and after medication administration. Flushing IV lines may seem like a simple process, but it is a vital part of patient care, preventing complications and ensuring the accurate delivery of medications. In this post, I’ll take a deep dive into why flushing IV lines is necessary, the risks of neglecting it, and best practices in line flushing. Why Flush an IV Line? At its core, flushing an IV line is a safety measure . The purpose of flushing is to maintain IV patency (openness) and ensure that medications are fully delivered into the bloodstream without any lingering drug remnants, blockages, or air bubbles in the line. To fully appreciate the significance of this, let’s explore some of the k...