We are evaluating our Intravenous lock flushing policy. Everyone agrees we should aspirate for blood however differ whether to discard and attach a new flush or flush with the same syringe, making sure the line is clear. Any thoughts? thanks.
We are evaluating our Intravenous lock flushing policy. Everyone agrees we should aspirate for blood however differ whether to discard and attach a new flush or flush with the same syringe, making sure the line is clear. Any thoughts? thanks.
When aspirting to assess catheter patency, do not detach syringe. You do not have to aspirate a lot of blood, just enough to determine that the color and consistency is that of whole blood. Then flush it back into the catheter without detaching and changing syringes. Detaching and reattaching a new syringe only increases hub manipulation and the possible risk of contamination. 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