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Jan Hull
NO cap on a Central line

A nurse found a catheter without a cap. It had been last accessed 8 hours prior.  The cap had been off for an undetermined number of hours.  What is the best practice; clean the hub and administer the medication; clean the hub and administer the medication and notify the doctor; notify the doctor and determine risk vs benefit of replacing the line.

Should you only replace a line that is non-functional or if patient has symptoms of infection?

Jan

 

msiegelrn
Jan please clarify this for

Jan please clarify this for me. Do you mean to say that for some unknown reason a catheter has been lefdt uncapped and open for an undetermined number of hours.

Thanks

Marvin Siegel RN CRNI

Director of Clinical Services

Town Total Health

NY, NY

Jan Hull
Yes, we replaced the catheter

Yes, we replaced the catheter and now risk management want to know if that is standard practice.

Jan Hull BSN, CRNI
[email protected]

lynncrni
First, if you are referring

First, if you are referring to this happening with any type of CVC, it is extremely fortunate that this patient did not have an air emboli. This problem was recently discussed on this forum so you can find the comments of others by searching this site. Of course to leave any catheter uncapped is a serious breach of the standard of practice and standard of care. Since this should never happen, there really is no established standard to guide you in how to manage the catheter. Look for the previous comments about this same situation. Lynn

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

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