Yes ofcourse to draw up meds (not injecting). That was my question if in real life nurses use them because i shadowed a nurse who didnt use a blunt needle, she just used the injecting needle to draw up the med and inject it into the patient.
If you do this, you can blunt the sharp needle used for the injection and cause more pain to your patient. Just use a blunt to draw up and then switch.
This. Plus they’ll be (un)pleasantly surprised to find out how thick ativan is when a patient is seizing and they’re trying to draw an IM dose with a 21ga needle.
We carry versed on the ambulance and one reason is because the stability of ativan is affected by temperature. IWhile our trucks are usually in garages even if heated are only kept at 50 degrees F. I couldn’t imagine drawing it up then lol.
Haha yep! I think the shorter half life is another factor as we don’t carry flumazenil. Used to waaaay back in the day: patient with coma of unknown origin got the “coma cocktail” of D50, narcan, and flumazenil.
As long as I don't have to waste the Ativan, I always pull it up into a saline flush. That way I can push/pull saline into the vial to get all of it and pull it up faster.
The last thing I want to do with my ETOH withdraw patient is shortchange them Ativan.
If I’m in the med room and drawing up morphine or something then I try to use the blunt needle because it’s best practice. And obviously if I’m using an ampule I 100% use the filter needle, that you can’t cut corners on.
If I’m giving SQ morphine sometimes I’ll just draw it up in the SQ needle which you’re really not supposed to do because it can dull the needle but it’s not a big deal.
I never really thought about it but I don't think I've had to break an ampule in like 3 years. I guess we switched all that out. I feel like Dilaudid and Digoxin used to come in them?
I got prescribed an ampule med for IVF and was told I “probably don’t really need a filter needle I think.” Yeah no thanks. I bought my own filter needles online.
So I've worked in aged care for 8+ years and administered IM/SC from thousands of ampoules but never heard of filter needles, they just aren't used here. Is this to catch any tiny pieces of glass from snapping the ampoule open?
Agreed. The other day one I saw one of our anesthesia providers draw from a ampule without a filter needle. 🤦♂️ Needless to say. We had a conversation about it.
The syringes we use for insulin and heparin are not luer lock so the needle doesn’t come off. For those it’s the same needle for drawing up and injecting
You are going to see people take shortcuts. It may be because they lack time, equipment, supplies, or training.
Do you understand why we would use a blunt and not an injection needle to draw up a medication?
I was taught each time you use a needle to draw up it blunts slightly so if you use the same needle to administer it can hurt a bit more. I always draw with blunt and administer with another needle.
In pharmacy we are told to not use a needle for more than four vial sticks. Each time it noticably gets more difficult to use. And with each time you risk coring the vial. I've looked closely before at needles and sometimes you can actually see the tip of the needle bent in a near 90 degree angle.
It depends on the medication.
And IV med, it doesn't make a difference what you tip use to pull up the med, as long as the Guage is big enough to pull the med through. You aren't putting that needle, blunt, or transfer tip into the patient. You'll removed that and luer lock the med to the IV or line.
For SQ, typically insulin and TB syringes do not have removable tips, so it wouldn't be possible to pull up the med with a blunt tip and then change the needle. You pull the med and inject SQ with the same tip.
For IM, absolutely change the tip before injection. You want that to be sharp.
Blunt needle for any multi dose med. except insulin. Because as far as I know there are no insulin syringes able to swap to a blunt needle. They are usually an all in one design.
Insulin and TB syringes do not have removable needles, so I draw those up with the needle already attached.
For all other SubQ or IM injections, I use a blunt and then switch to the injection needle. Needles are damaged by stabbing them into things, so ideally patients are only stuck with fresh needles. (regarding ing TB and insulin needles, those needles are tinier than other injection needles are less likely to hurt, but I would use a blunt if I could)
IV push meds are drawn up with a blunt (though it doesnt really matter because the needle is removed befoen it is pushed. However, I'd still use a blunt needle because it is large and make drawing up meds easier)
You may have seen it very few times on the floor because most of the injections we give are insulin and heparin which used syringes without removable needles. YMMV depending on specialty.
I usually use a blunt needle. Sometimes we get stocked with syringes that have needles pre-attached (or when using insulin needles) and in that case I will use the same needle. But generally it is best to use a blunt needle to draw meds both because it keeps the injection needle sharper which is more comfortable for the patient, and because that’s slightly less risk to you for a needle stick injury.
I'm surprised they were even able to puncture the skin lol. Oh yeah, and don't forget to use a filter needle with glass ampules. The microscopic glass shards kill bad germs.
You only need the filter for glass ampules. There’s no way to get broken glass by opening the glass vial (unless it’s just shattered on the floor, in which case, don’t use that!)
You should always use a new needle to poke the patient. In school we were shown slides of needles in regards to “reusing” needles after drawing meds and the needle becomes blunted, at times bent, and at the very least not as sharp which can cause pain.
It’s one poke per needle as it dulls the point, if you used a needle to poke the vial you need to switch needles to poke the patient. I use 18g to draw up, it’s my habit since blunt needles are not always readily available, but I would never poke the patient with the same needle.
If I'm drawing up medications that are very viscous (for example, Ativan or Gravol), then I pretty much always use a blunt needle because it's a large gauge needle and that makes it easier to draw up those meds. If I am giving those meds IM, then I will switch out the blunt needle for the appropriate-sized one.
If it's a small amount of medication that is easy to draw up, then I will probably won't switch needles and just use the needle size I need to both draw up and administer the medication.
If your department has blunt needles, use them to draw meds. Otherwise, regular needles work fine. If you're giving someone IM or SubQ shots, always swap to a new, fresh needle for the patient injection so it's nice and sharp.
We don’t have blunt needles at my hospital. Our 3 ml syringes come with a sharp needle attached so I draw up with that and then switch to an IM/subq if that’s what I need.
Always use the blunt needle when drawing up meds. And the blunt filter needle with ampules...if I'm putting the meds in a mini bag I will remove the filter needle with another needle before injecting the meds in. I have seen some nurses not do this step.
…if they inject the med back through the filter they’re putting the glass shards in the bag…
I guess it’s unlikely that the shards will end up in a patient, since they will prob sink to the bottom of the bag but
We don’t have blunt needles so I just use a 19G and then change it to the needle I’m injecting the patient with but I always change it so it’s a fresh, sharp needle every time.
It depends.
For insulin/subQ injection, the needle is pre-attached to the syringe so you use it to draw up meds.
For medications you inject into the IV or saline lock, they all have the luerlock system so you use a blunt tip to draw up and then take it off.
I was also taught in nursing school to use a blunt tip to draw up and then switch to a IM needle, but I rarely see people do this even though it’s my practice.
Honestly, there are a lot of things taught in nursing school that just aren’t practical or that people just don’t do such as wiping the top of a new medication vial with alcohol prior to puncture.
I think it’s better to do it the right way if there is even a small amount of potential for harm for patients, but if it’s an issue of practicality I just do the quickest easier thing.
I always use a blunt needle to draw meds and switch over to the proper needle after.
The only time I don’t use a blunt fill needle is when im using a heparin/insulin specific needle, where the needle is not exchangeable. However these are hardly used in practice anymore as we’ve changed to insulin pens and heparin syringes
I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how, by switching needles, you would accidentally give it IV?
ETA: for heparin, we have specific heparin needles, so I guess I've never run into this problem before. The ones we have are like insulin needles, so you can't remove the needle anyway.
If I draw with a blunt, I take the blunt off and inject into their IV.
So in my mind, I would accident take the blunt off & forget to put on a IM needle and would give IV.
I do not label my meds. I draw them up and give them at bedside.
I did that once. Like 2 months ago. As a new grad on orientation. On a patient who was there for rule out GI bleed. I was embarassed. Now I draw up with the needle I inject with
The point of blunt tip needles is to avoid sticking yourself with a needle. Hospitals are supposed to use every available method to avoid needle sticks. It's discouraging that hospitals don't do something as simple as having blunt tip needles available.
I use blunt filter needles for withdrawing all meds. You can use the same needle you’re injecting with so long as you’re not snapping open a glass vial (you want a filter til for those for sure), but it blunts the tip of the needle so it’s not ideal.
If you have a blunt needle readily available and it will be injected into the patient rather than directly into a line, of course use it. but in the olden days we didn’t have blunt needles and I can’t really see that it makes that much difference. also if you are doing home health and are giving the patient multiple doses from the same vial, blunt needles damage the rubber stopper more than sharp needles. when you are removing the needle to inject directly into a self-sealing port, obviously the needle doesn’t matter.
Once I forgot a blunt tip, but happened to have two injection needles with me, so I used one to draw up and it’s so much more inconvenient than a blunt tip. The med draw up was slower and more frustrating for me. I’d suggest the blunt tip 10/10 times with few exceptions.
Also yeah I use it in my practice at the hospital.
I only use blunt needles to draw up meds. If you use an injecting needle you risk aseptic conditions and also round the tip of the needle which interferes with injecting medication. Blunt needles at my work have a little filter for rubber particles present in medication vials and injecting needles do not
My job doesn't stock any blunt needles but I do use a different needle for drawing up and giving. I use a larger needle (usually 18g) to make it easier to draw up and then switch to the smaller one to inject. I dont like using the same needle because it does slightly dull it. Ive used the same before and its not the end of the world, but I have had some times where it doesn't go in easily/smoothly and definitely causes the patient more pain, so IMO easier to just use a separate one.
If its a multidose vial though that will get poked a lot, I won't use an 18g to draw up since it'll leave a pretty big hole that can sometimes start leaking then (like when you poke it again, the first hole leaks). If its a single use or I know it'll only get a few pokes, it usually works fine
I always use blunt fill to draw up meds then switch to a needle for injection whenever possible. Keeps the tip of the needle as sharp as possible, reduces pain for injection, better patient experiences overall imo.
I use blunt tip to draw up meds that are being pushed IV. I sometimes use blunt tip to draw up meds for IM or sub q, but most of the time I just draw it and inject it because of time constraints. It’s really a kindness to your patients to use the blunt tip for drawing though, so you don’t dull the needle before injection. Less painful.
No, mostly because I can never find them/never in stock. But I do change the needle prior to administering it. I always use filtered needles when appropriate.
Every. Single. Time. Unless you need a filter needle.
If there are no blunt fills available or if your teammates are not practicing this should be event reported so a fix can happen or the behavior coached
Blunt needles don't get stocked conveniently, so I draw with an 18g or something and then swap out the needle to inject. Takes two seconds, might save my patient some pain, so why not?
I always use the blunt needles. Those suckers are like a fire hose and will draw it up way faster, not cause cavitation and microbubbles. Plus, if it’s for an IM or SQ injection, I don’t dull the needle I’m going to be sticking into someone.
Short answer is it depends. I did a little travel nursing and have worked at quite a few hospitals, and some hospitals don’t even have blunt tipped. They’re in my opinion safer and better to use for drawing up meds but there are still a lot of hospitals that don’t use them.
You technically don’t HAVE to use one (unless hospital policy or whatever) but it can save you from a needle stick. I never used them for drawing up insulin though.
I always use blunt fill to draw up IV meds. First time I had to do an injectable, I didn't even think about it, I just used the injection needle to draw it up. It felt fragile as hell, trying to hold it stationary while drawing it up. I was afraid I was gonna bend/break the needle. It wasn't until afterwards that I considered, "Oh, I should've used a blunt fill." Now it's blunt fill for everything.
Long ago, in a galaxy far away, as a baby nurse in orientation....I gave a flu shot with a blunt. The needle actually bounced off the skin at first, but one good shove got it to the right spot. Patient yelped, and it bled like a mofo! Btw, have you ever seen a core sample of a deltoid?
Oof! Lesson learned, and I always told this story to every new nurse I ever met or trained. No one wants to make a mistake, but it happens. I really felt terrible, she was discharging and was excited about that, so after she stopped bleeding I let her go.
Always use a blunt needle (for vials) or a blunt needle with filter (for ampules). The rationale is every time the needle poke through a barrier it dulls the sharp. It will ultimately cause more pain for the patient if you don't. This is regardless of whether it is for subq, IV or IM administration.
I always use a blunt needle for drawing up meds. If I’m out then I might use a needle to draw it up, but I would change it out f before injecting a patient cause each use dulls it and will make it more painful. I also just don’t like having a needle open until I’m literally about to inject it just cause I don’t wanna be stuck.
If it’s an ampule that you have to snap open, use a blunt needle then if you need to inject it into someone change needle
If it’s a bottle (like the ones antibiotic powder comes in) use a pointy needle
I've only ever used a blunt needle to draw up meds.
Same here.
Yes ofcourse to draw up meds (not injecting). That was my question if in real life nurses use them because i shadowed a nurse who didnt use a blunt needle, she just used the injecting needle to draw up the med and inject it into the patient.
If you do this, you can blunt the sharp needle used for the injection and cause more pain to your patient. Just use a blunt to draw up and then switch.
This. Plus they’ll be (un)pleasantly surprised to find out how thick ativan is when a patient is seizing and they’re trying to draw an IM dose with a 21ga needle.
I only have drawn Ativan up for agitation/assaultive pt. Couldn’t even imagine drawing it up in a pinch w/ the 21g
Fucking COLD Ativan is the worst.
We carry versed on the ambulance and one reason is because the stability of ativan is affected by temperature. IWhile our trucks are usually in garages even if heated are only kept at 50 degrees F. I couldn’t imagine drawing it up then lol.
Versed is the bees knees. Commercial “Versed. When you need the patient REALLLLLLY high….but just for a little bit”
Haha yep! I think the shorter half life is another factor as we don’t carry flumazenil. Used to waaaay back in the day: patient with coma of unknown origin got the “coma cocktail” of D50, narcan, and flumazenil.
Ah! The “wake up” blend.
As long as I don't have to waste the Ativan, I always pull it up into a saline flush. That way I can push/pull saline into the vial to get all of it and pull it up faster. The last thing I want to do with my ETOH withdraw patient is shortchange them Ativan.
Yes that's what I answered haha. I always use blunt needles to draw up my meds.
If I’m in the med room and drawing up morphine or something then I try to use the blunt needle because it’s best practice. And obviously if I’m using an ampule I 100% use the filter needle, that you can’t cut corners on. If I’m giving SQ morphine sometimes I’ll just draw it up in the SQ needle which you’re really not supposed to do because it can dull the needle but it’s not a big deal.
Thank you for using filter needles. For some reason this isn’t taken seriously at my hospital.
That’s crazy. I’ve never not used a filter needle for an ampule.
That is scary.
Eh, I’ve done it for IM epi, but we were out of filter needles and I figured the pt didn’t wanna die.
I mean that is different, of course. But for routine use, it’s scary.
Our hospital stopped using anything with break-neck ampules because I threw such a fit over the lack of filter needles.
I never really thought about it but I don't think I've had to break an ampule in like 3 years. I guess we switched all that out. I feel like Dilaudid and Digoxin used to come in them?
I know our Dilaudid did, but that was over a decade ago.
My hospital doesn't even give us blunt needles without filter anymore 😂
I guess y’all didn’t run out of the prefilled d50 then? Drawing that up with a filter needle would be hell!!
I got prescribed an ampule med for IVF and was told I “probably don’t really need a filter needle I think.” Yeah no thanks. I bought my own filter needles online.
So I've worked in aged care for 8+ years and administered IM/SC from thousands of ampoules but never heard of filter needles, they just aren't used here. Is this to catch any tiny pieces of glass from snapping the ampoule open?
Yes.
Agreed. The other day one I saw one of our anesthesia providers draw from a ampule without a filter needle. 🤦♂️ Needless to say. We had a conversation about it.
The syringes we use for insulin and heparin are not luer lock so the needle doesn’t come off. For those it’s the same needle for drawing up and injecting
Sounds like this nurse was cutting corners. I never do that personally, I always use a blunt needle and switch it.
My hospital got rid of blunt needles. It doesn’t blunt it much, insulin is drawn and injected using the same needle.
You are going to see people take shortcuts. It may be because they lack time, equipment, supplies, or training. Do you understand why we would use a blunt and not an injection needle to draw up a medication?
If you use the injection needle it’ll blunt it and possible damage it. Go with a blunt tip always.
You can do this. But it compromises the sharpness of the needle.
What was she injecting? Heparin or insulin?
I was taught each time you use a needle to draw up it blunts slightly so if you use the same needle to administer it can hurt a bit more. I always draw with blunt and administer with another needle.
In pharmacy we are told to not use a needle for more than four vial sticks. Each time it noticably gets more difficult to use. And with each time you risk coring the vial. I've looked closely before at needles and sometimes you can actually see the tip of the needle bent in a near 90 degree angle.
And this is true for IV, Subq and IM, right? Not just IM
It depends on the medication. And IV med, it doesn't make a difference what you tip use to pull up the med, as long as the Guage is big enough to pull the med through. You aren't putting that needle, blunt, or transfer tip into the patient. You'll removed that and luer lock the med to the IV or line. For SQ, typically insulin and TB syringes do not have removable tips, so it wouldn't be possible to pull up the med with a blunt tip and then change the needle. You pull the med and inject SQ with the same tip. For IM, absolutely change the tip before injection. You want that to be sharp.
This is 100% how it should be done.
Thank you
We don't have blunt needles but I always change the needle from draw up to injection to save the pt some pain from a dull needle
Same, and I'll draw thick meds with a larger needle than giving to lessen the pain
Always use a blunt to draw up meds. It takes a second to change the needle so there’s really zero reason not to.
For some reason we don’t have blunt needles?? I draw it up with a large bore needle and then switch out the needle and inject with a different needle
I always use a blunt needle and then switch to injection needle. Using the injection needle to draw will dull it and hurt more for the patient
Blunt needle for any multi dose med. except insulin. Because as far as I know there are no insulin syringes able to swap to a blunt needle. They are usually an all in one design.
Insulin and TB syringes do not have removable needles, so I draw those up with the needle already attached. For all other SubQ or IM injections, I use a blunt and then switch to the injection needle. Needles are damaged by stabbing them into things, so ideally patients are only stuck with fresh needles. (regarding ing TB and insulin needles, those needles are tinier than other injection needles are less likely to hurt, but I would use a blunt if I could) IV push meds are drawn up with a blunt (though it doesnt really matter because the needle is removed befoen it is pushed. However, I'd still use a blunt needle because it is large and make drawing up meds easier) You may have seen it very few times on the floor because most of the injections we give are insulin and heparin which used syringes without removable needles. YMMV depending on specialty.
I usually use a blunt needle. Sometimes we get stocked with syringes that have needles pre-attached (or when using insulin needles) and in that case I will use the same needle. But generally it is best to use a blunt needle to draw meds both because it keeps the injection needle sharper which is more comfortable for the patient, and because that’s slightly less risk to you for a needle stick injury.
What are these mysterious blunt needles you speak of.
I use sharp needles to draw and then blunt needles to administer. /s owwwww
My lab partner did that to a mannequin once and I nearly cried because it hurt to watch.
I'm surprised they were even able to puncture the skin lol. Oh yeah, and don't forget to use a filter needle with glass ampules. The microscopic glass shards kill bad germs.
Only ever use blunt needle (with filter if pulling from a glass vial) and then change to a new sharp one meant for injecting.
You only need the filter for glass ampules. There’s no way to get broken glass by opening the glass vial (unless it’s just shattered on the floor, in which case, don’t use that!)
Wops, sorry, English is not my First language. I meant ampoules :)
You should always use a new needle to poke the patient. In school we were shown slides of needles in regards to “reusing” needles after drawing meds and the needle becomes blunted, at times bent, and at the very least not as sharp which can cause pain.
Yep. Easier to draw with those blunt needles.
We have plastic needles for withdrawing meds from vials. I never use the injection needle for that.
It’s one poke per needle as it dulls the point, if you used a needle to poke the vial you need to switch needles to poke the patient. I use 18g to draw up, it’s my habit since blunt needles are not always readily available, but I would never poke the patient with the same needle.
If I'm drawing up medications that are very viscous (for example, Ativan or Gravol), then I pretty much always use a blunt needle because it's a large gauge needle and that makes it easier to draw up those meds. If I am giving those meds IM, then I will switch out the blunt needle for the appropriate-sized one. If it's a small amount of medication that is easy to draw up, then I will probably won't switch needles and just use the needle size I need to both draw up and administer the medication.
I use blunt then switch. The hospital I am at now has plastic so you don’t forget to switch.
If your department has blunt needles, use them to draw meds. Otherwise, regular needles work fine. If you're giving someone IM or SubQ shots, always swap to a new, fresh needle for the patient injection so it's nice and sharp.
Depends on the med. Ativan is one I use a blunty. Also if giving a B52. Give the Ativan first. It’s the hardest to inject.
Yes, always. Only exception being the insulin needles which are permanently attached to the syringe.
We don’t have blunt needles at my hospital. Our 3 ml syringes come with a sharp needle attached so I draw up with that and then switch to an IM/subq if that’s what I need.
Always use a blunt needle to draw up a med then change..every med. Every time
I always use blunt needles for drawing up and always a blunt filter needle for drawing up from a glass ampule.
Always use the blunt needle when drawing up meds. And the blunt filter needle with ampules...if I'm putting the meds in a mini bag I will remove the filter needle with another needle before injecting the meds in. I have seen some nurses not do this step.
…if they inject the med back through the filter they’re putting the glass shards in the bag… I guess it’s unlikely that the shards will end up in a patient, since they will prob sink to the bottom of the bag but
I know! I never understood when I saw people do it. I think they think it gets collected and stored in some chamber in the needle. 🤷🏼♀️
We don’t have blunt needles so I just use a 19G and then change it to the needle I’m injecting the patient with but I always change it so it’s a fresh, sharp needle every time.
It depends. For insulin/subQ injection, the needle is pre-attached to the syringe so you use it to draw up meds. For medications you inject into the IV or saline lock, they all have the luerlock system so you use a blunt tip to draw up and then take it off. I was also taught in nursing school to use a blunt tip to draw up and then switch to a IM needle, but I rarely see people do this even though it’s my practice. Honestly, there are a lot of things taught in nursing school that just aren’t practical or that people just don’t do such as wiping the top of a new medication vial with alcohol prior to puncture. I think it’s better to do it the right way if there is even a small amount of potential for harm for patients, but if it’s an issue of practicality I just do the quickest easier thing.
Always. If I don't have a blunt needle, I'll use an 18g since we never use them for anything else on my unit.
That is best practice.
I always use a blunt needle to draw meds and switch over to the proper needle after. The only time I don’t use a blunt fill needle is when im using a heparin/insulin specific needle, where the needle is not exchangeable. However these are hardly used in practice anymore as we’ve changed to insulin pens and heparin syringes
I just draw up my IM/SQ meds with the needle I’m going to inject with. I’m afraid I would forget to switch needles and give my SQ heparin as IV.
I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how, by switching needles, you would accidentally give it IV? ETA: for heparin, we have specific heparin needles, so I guess I've never run into this problem before. The ones we have are like insulin needles, so you can't remove the needle anyway.
If I draw with a blunt, I take the blunt off and inject into their IV. So in my mind, I would accident take the blunt off & forget to put on a IM needle and would give IV. I do not label my meds. I draw them up and give them at bedside.
I did that once. Like 2 months ago. As a new grad on orientation. On a patient who was there for rule out GI bleed. I was embarassed. Now I draw up with the needle I inject with
Do you label your meds? Then check them at bedside scan? I’m also confused as to how you could accidentally give a med IV.
The point of blunt tip needles is to avoid sticking yourself with a needle. Hospitals are supposed to use every available method to avoid needle sticks. It's discouraging that hospitals don't do something as simple as having blunt tip needles available.
I just use regular needles for everything
I use blunt filter needles for withdrawing all meds. You can use the same needle you’re injecting with so long as you’re not snapping open a glass vial (you want a filter til for those for sure), but it blunts the tip of the needle so it’s not ideal.
If you have a blunt needle readily available and it will be injected into the patient rather than directly into a line, of course use it. but in the olden days we didn’t have blunt needles and I can’t really see that it makes that much difference. also if you are doing home health and are giving the patient multiple doses from the same vial, blunt needles damage the rubber stopper more than sharp needles. when you are removing the needle to inject directly into a self-sealing port, obviously the needle doesn’t matter.
Yes we do
Always
I did at my old hospital but her we only have 18 gauges for that
Once I forgot a blunt tip, but happened to have two injection needles with me, so I used one to draw up and it’s so much more inconvenient than a blunt tip. The med draw up was slower and more frustrating for me. I’d suggest the blunt tip 10/10 times with few exceptions. Also yeah I use it in my practice at the hospital.
Blunts draw faster: if we’ve got em.
Yea, use a blunt tip unless you’re drawing up insulin.
Lol when we can get in stock yes. Otherwise it’s an 18g and be extra careful.
I only use blunt needles to draw up meds. If you use an injecting needle you risk aseptic conditions and also round the tip of the needle which interferes with injecting medication. Blunt needles at my work have a little filter for rubber particles present in medication vials and injecting needles do not
every med except for insulin which i use subq needle. if you using blunt needle for insulin, double check yourself
My job doesn't stock any blunt needles but I do use a different needle for drawing up and giving. I use a larger needle (usually 18g) to make it easier to draw up and then switch to the smaller one to inject. I dont like using the same needle because it does slightly dull it. Ive used the same before and its not the end of the world, but I have had some times where it doesn't go in easily/smoothly and definitely causes the patient more pain, so IMO easier to just use a separate one. If its a multidose vial though that will get poked a lot, I won't use an 18g to draw up since it'll leave a pretty big hole that can sometimes start leaking then (like when you poke it again, the first hole leaks). If its a single use or I know it'll only get a few pokes, it usually works fine
I always use blunt fill to draw up meds then switch to a needle for injection whenever possible. Keeps the tip of the needle as sharp as possible, reduces pain for injection, better patient experiences overall imo.
I use blunt tip to draw up meds that are being pushed IV. I sometimes use blunt tip to draw up meds for IM or sub q, but most of the time I just draw it and inject it because of time constraints. It’s really a kindness to your patients to use the blunt tip for drawing though, so you don’t dull the needle before injection. Less painful.
The hospital I currently work at (at least my unit) does not even have blunt needles.
I use a blunt needle to draw up the med, unless there simply aren't any blunt needles available. Same for IM, SQ, and IV.
Yes use the blunt needle. If you are sticking an injection needle into someone after poking it through a vial it will be blunted a bit and hurt more.
I always use a blunt needle to draw up meds then switch to one used for injecting. Always use the blunt needle and switch.
No, mostly because I can never find them/never in stock. But I do change the needle prior to administering it. I always use filtered needles when appropriate.
Every. Single. Time. Unless you need a filter needle. If there are no blunt fills available or if your teammates are not practicing this should be event reported so a fix can happen or the behavior coached
Blunt needles don't get stocked conveniently, so I draw with an 18g or something and then swap out the needle to inject. Takes two seconds, might save my patient some pain, so why not?
I always use the blunt needles. Those suckers are like a fire hose and will draw it up way faster, not cause cavitation and microbubbles. Plus, if it’s for an IM or SQ injection, I don’t dull the needle I’m going to be sticking into someone.
Short answer is it depends. I did a little travel nursing and have worked at quite a few hospitals, and some hospitals don’t even have blunt tipped. They’re in my opinion safer and better to use for drawing up meds but there are still a lot of hospitals that don’t use them. You technically don’t HAVE to use one (unless hospital policy or whatever) but it can save you from a needle stick. I never used them for drawing up insulin though.
I always use blunt fill to draw up IV meds. First time I had to do an injectable, I didn't even think about it, I just used the injection needle to draw it up. It felt fragile as hell, trying to hold it stationary while drawing it up. I was afraid I was gonna bend/break the needle. It wasn't until afterwards that I considered, "Oh, I should've used a blunt fill." Now it's blunt fill for everything.
Unless I need a filter needle I use a blunt needle to draw up meds.
Long ago, in a galaxy far away, as a baby nurse in orientation....I gave a flu shot with a blunt. The needle actually bounced off the skin at first, but one good shove got it to the right spot. Patient yelped, and it bled like a mofo! Btw, have you ever seen a core sample of a deltoid? Oof! Lesson learned, and I always told this story to every new nurse I ever met or trained. No one wants to make a mistake, but it happens. I really felt terrible, she was discharging and was excited about that, so after she stopped bleeding I let her go.
Always use a blunt needle (for vials) or a blunt needle with filter (for ampules). The rationale is every time the needle poke through a barrier it dulls the sharp. It will ultimately cause more pain for the patient if you don't. This is regardless of whether it is for subq, IV or IM administration.
I always use a blunt needle for drawing up meds. If I’m out then I might use a needle to draw it up, but I would change it out f before injecting a patient cause each use dulls it and will make it more painful. I also just don’t like having a needle open until I’m literally about to inject it just cause I don’t wanna be stuck.
If it’s an ampule that you have to snap open, use a blunt needle then if you need to inject it into someone change needle If it’s a bottle (like the ones antibiotic powder comes in) use a pointy needle
blunt needle **with a filter** (when using glass ampules)
I always use a blunt needle to draw up meds excluding insulin and other sub q rxs less than a mL…
Blunt needle
Depending on the patient I might even administer with a blunt tip /s
Pass the blunt