Venous Access – Leukaemia Care e-learning

Venous access is the access to the bloodstream via the veins.

Venous access is required for

Intravenous (IV) treatment administration such as medication or fluids (blood or rehydrating fluids) and nutrition if required
Obtaining repeated venous blood samples
As an access point for blood-based treatments such as dialysis or apheresis.

– Apheresis involves removing whole blood and separating its individual components to remove one particular component. The remaining blood components are re-inserted into the patient’s bloodstream.

Simple IV drug administration can be given as:

An IV infusion where continuous blood levels are required such as antibiotics, antifungals, and pain-inhibiting drugs such as morphine and other opiates
A ‘bolus’ of medication over 1–30 mins, however bolus IV administration is infrequently used and often restricted to emergency situations.
By administering a drug intravenously, a first-pass metabolism of the drug, where it is metabolised rapidly after administration is avoided. Therefore, a significantly higher concentration of the drug can reach the systemic circulation, allowing a more immediate effect.

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