A complication of the use of an intra-osseous needle
- Matthias Helm1,2,
- Rudolf Goller3,4,
- Carsten Hackenbroch5,6,
- Björn Hossfeld1
- 1Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Section of Emergency Medicine, Armed Forces Medical Centre Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- 2Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, German Field Hospital Mazar-e-Sharif, Camp Marmal, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
- 3Department of Surgery, Armed Forces Medical Centre Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 4Department of Surgery, German Field Hospital Mazar-e-Sharif, Camp Marmal, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
- 5Department of Radiology, Armed Forces Medical Centre Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- 6Department of Radiology, German Field Hospital Mazar-e-Sharif, Camp Marmal, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
- Correspondence to Dr Matthias Helm, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Section of Emergency Medicine, Federal Armed Forces Medical Centre Ulm, 8970 Ulm, Germany; matthias.helm{at}extern.uni-ulm.de
- Accepted 6 April 2011
- Published Online First 2 June 2011
Intraosseous access has become a fast and safe alternative route for emergency vascular access. This case report highlights one potential complication of the use of one brand of intraosseous needle.
Vascular access is a vital task in the resuscitation of the critically ill and/or injured. However, in cases in which the patient is in circulatory shock, obtaining peripheral intravenous access can be difficult. In these cases, intraosseous access has become a rapid and safe alternative for providing vascular access in the prehospital setting.1 2 We present a case of the breakage of an intraosseous needle in situ and the difficulties in removal and the lessons learnt from this.
Case report
A group of soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force participated in a training programme for the use of the FAST-1 intraosseous …
