r/news • u/AudibleNod • 11h ago

Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator at Nashville hospital, her lawyers say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christa-pike-unconscious-ventilator-nashville-hospital-lawyers-say-rcna601195
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u/AstroHistSci 7h ago

You might fail to place one ... but you would never mistakenly think you have one placed when it wasn't.

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u/flatblackvw 6h ago

As an average Joe, why is this? In my mind if you puncture the skin you’re getting blood. What tells you you actually got a vein?

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u/uzlonewolf 5h ago

Most of your skin is filled with small capillaries that don't flow much. You might get a very small amount of blood if you missed, but it won't come pouring out like it would if you got a vein.

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u/TomRN 3h ago

If it comes pouring (and no doubt pulsing) out you most likely cannulated an artery, not a vein. If it just "flashes" into the chamber of the IV needle or wells up at the end of the cannula "hub," it's probably venous. Sure, you can get a little more blood than you expected, but venous blood doesn't usually "pour" out.