Patients with a hairy chest may require little patches of hair to be shaved when applying EKG leads. This allows the leads to stick firmly to the chest. Loose leads will result in either an artifactual signal or no signal at all on the EKG machine.
How can you obtain an EKG without shaving little patches on the patient's chest?
Trick of the Trade:
Cover EKG leads with damp gauze
Water maximes the contact surface area between the EKG lead and the patient's skin. The water easily conducts the cardiac electrical signal.
Generously soak gauze with water.
Apply gauze over each EKG lead where it contacts hairy skin.
Thanks to Dr. Gemma Morabito from Rome, Italy for telling me about this trick. Keep a lookout for more of Dr. Morabito's tricks on her Italian EM website, MedEmIt (http://www.medicinadurgenza.com/).
Another trick that works well is putting a dollop of Ultrasound Transducer gel underneath the electrode. Then lay a folded bath blanket over the chest leads to ensure adherence to the chest wall.
ReplyDeleteToby S. Knight-Meigs,RN,BSN
Charge Nurse
Peace Harbor Hospital
Florence, Oregon, USA
Hi Toby: Whoa! That's awesome! Might be a little less messy with ultrasound gel. That way you don't have water dripping all over the patient's body. Thanks for the tip!
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