It makes good sense to me that when you change the valve end-caps on a venous access device, you would use an alcohol swab to clean the threads on the device during the change. This activity is not currently included in our IV policies. I'd like to add it but would like a reference to back it up. Can you help me?
Thanks!
Alma Kooistra CRNI
There were numerous European studies from the 1990's pointing to the hub as the source of BSI long before the current controversy about needleless connectors. Many hospitals already have a policy and procedure to clean the female hub of the catheter itself each time a tubing or connector is changed. The only recent study I can point to is Marcia Ryder's work on the Site-Scrub product that has only been published in a poster, to my knowledge. You will need to confirm with the catheter manufacturer that the plastic used in their catheter hub can tolerate alcohol. 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