Do NOT Ignore IV Sizes. Low Flow IV = DEATH.

Does IV size 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 matter?

𝗬𝗘𝗦.  Especially when transfusing to save a life.

Maternal hemorrhage in OB anesthesia is 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘆

One moment, a mother is cooing at her newborn
↳𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁-𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱
↳𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 8% 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦

• Alarms are blaring
• Panicked phone calls are being made
• Nurses and obstetricians are running around

Postpartum hemorrhage (𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮) interventions are

• Uterotonics
• Arterial Lines
• Blood Transfusion
• Central Venous Line
• Massive Transfusion Protocol
• (𝙇𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙚) Intravenous Access

But there is a rate-limiting step to transfusions
↳𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗩

The max flow rate is 𝙄𝙉𝙎𝙐𝙍𝙈𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙏𝘼𝘽𝙇𝙀 regardless of how many units of blood are ready to be transfused

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆:
Consider IV size in clinical practice and in litigation
↳Failure to obtain the right size is a (𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹) killer

𝗣.𝗦. - 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝟯𝘅 𝟮𝟬 𝗴𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗜𝗩𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟭𝘅 𝟭𝟲 𝗴𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗜𝗩?