Have a patient that came to our oncology clinic with an infusaport...........said that he only needs flushed every 6 months. Â Is that routine for anyone? Â I haven't worked with infusaports myself, but from what I read, they are like a port-a-cath...............accessed with a non-coring needle and flushed with NS/heparin. Â Can anyone help me out here?
Thank you.
Lesha Seaver RN, Liberty Hospital, Liberty, MO
The standard of care for vascular access port flushing and for heparin to be instilled is once a month (or every 28 days, as stated in some policies). The only difference that I am aware of is that no heparin is used if the port is attached to a Groshong catheter.
I am not familiar with an every 6 month port flushing routine. I'll keep my eyes on this discussion string to see if anyone can provide some insight.
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
We have an oncologist who writes the order for his patients with ports to only be flushed every 3 months when not being used. I was concerned when he first started doing this but we have not had any clotting issues or with blood returns with his patients so far and he has been doing this for almost two years. We still flush any other ones every month when not being used.
Helen Lazeration, CRNI
Fairbank Memorial Hospital
7-27-07 I would like a response to my question regarding when it is safe to use a infusaport, when you can not get a blood return. Being an oncology nurse and employed by different oncologists, each has their procedure to follow.
Question: Can the port be used if you do not have a blood return?
Question: If, after instilling 250cc of normal saline thru port access without difficulty and still no blood return is it safe to use the port?
Question: How frequent should the patient with port be checked for patency if no blood return is seen?