What happens if air is injected into a patient’s IV?

The hospital had reached out to authorities after they had a concern about unexpected patient deaths.  They suspected that one of their staff was involved as all the cases had happened during his night shift.

The investigation found that the nurse entered the patient’s rooms and performed a procedure with the patient’s IVs, and the patients then suffered serious harm or death.  The nurse was observed on a video camera coming out of the involved patient’s rooms.

It is suspected that the nurse injected air into the patient’s IVs.  This causes an air embolism, and can result in an immediate stroke or cardiac arrest.