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Are you comfortable with Intraosseous Catheter Placement in Children during a code? A pediatric code or child in distress is also distressing to care providers. Your staff may not feel comfortable with IO access in children. Read on to be more comfortable with your options as IO access in children can be difficult, especially the chubby toddlers. The basics for a patient in distress are "IV, O2, Monitor". Access is vital to giving resuscitation medications.
Indications for IO access: Any child in whom IV access cannot readily be obtained, but is necessary.
All IOs are 15G for infusion equal to central vascular access.
Different colors indicate different sizes:
- Pink=15 mm
- Blue=25 mm
- Yellow=45 mm
Preferred sites:
- Proximal tibial (place a towel in popliteal fossa to bend the leg, pinch tibia and 1 finger width below the patella inferior and medial if you can’t palpate the tibial tuberosity)
- Distal tibia (proximal to medial malleolus by 1 finger width)—preferred in older children
- Proximal Humerus (internally rotate humerus and 1 finger width below surgical neck)
- Distal Femoral (1-2 finger widths superior to femoral epicondyles)
Kids-do NOT use the sternum or distal radius
The reference from NEJM has videos to review placement and different tools (manual, EZ IO, and autoinjector).