What happens if you hit a nerve during venipuncture?

When inserting the needle, if the nurse or other person drawing blood is not careful, they may accidentally puncture a nerve. If they extract blood from the bottom of your wrist, the ulnar nerve may be damaged. Nerve injury can result in excruciating pain, tingling, and muscle weakness.

How common is nerve damage from blood draw?

When reviewing the blood donation population specifically, the incidence of nerve injury was found to be between 1 in 21,000 and 1 in 26,000 venipunctures. The majority of these injuries are self-limiting and resolve spontaneously.

What causes electric shock feeling in leg?

Shooting leg pains can often occur when a lumbar vertebra suddenly shifts and places abnormal pressure on a nerve, causing it to misfire. The brain registers these signals as pain which we feel down the nerve line of the leg, often intensely. Some people describe the pain like an electric shock.

What kind of doctor treats nerve damage?

Neurologists are specialists who treat diseases of the brain and spinal cord, peripheral nerves and muscles. Neurological conditions include epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease.

What is an electric shock sensation?

Electric Shock Overview An electric shock occurs when a person comes into contact with an electrical energy source. Electrical energy flows through a portion of the body causing a shock. Exposure to electrical energy may result in no injury at all or may result in devastating damage or death.

What nerves are injured during a venipuncture?

The two nerves most often injured during a venipuncture procedure are the radial and median nerves. The radial nerve passes along the thumb side of the arm, from the shoulder down into the wrist area, and is in close proximity to the cephalic vein. In a venipuncture procedure, the cephalic vein is often the vein of choice for many clinicians.

What happens when a nurse draws blood from the antecubital fossa?

When nurses are drawing blood from the antecubital fossa or inserting peripheral IV devices, they could contact and injure this nerve. Insertion of IV catheters into the superficial veins of the inner aspect of the wrist above the palm of the hand can result in serious injury to the median nerve and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Is lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve injury following venipuncture serious?

Though usually innocuous, peripheral nerve injuries with serious sequelae have been described following venipuncture. We present a case of venipuncture-related lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve injury, alongside the essential diagnostic and prognostic information for day to day practice.

What is the antecubital fossa nerve?

Nerves in the antecubital fossa classically lie on a plane just beneath, and in close proximity to, the veins, making them susceptible to injury during phlebotomy; also it has been shown that there is a large range of anatomic variation, suggesting that even a non-traumatic, satisfactory venipuncture can directly damage these nerves.