We are starting to place Hickman catheters at our facility. Previously we would only see a few patients admitted through the ED with an existing line from a different facility. Manufacturer guidelines for daily flushing are vague, giving a range for Heparin from 10U/mL - 100U/mL and 2-5mL.
I have not been able to find any literature about healing time for the Dacron cuff and when a securement device is no longer needed.
Currently we are flushing inpatient lines with NS 10cc every 8 hours. We advise patients on discharge to flush each line daily with 10cc NS, followed with Heparin 100u/mL, 3mL.
Looking for information about what other facilities are using for their Hickman catheters and wondering if you have found some recent literature to support.
Thank you,
Karen
See INS Standard on Flushing and Locking. Use either NS or Heparin 10 units per mL. 100 units is not necessary. Supported by lots of evidence now.
there is no definitive cuff healing time and it is very much patient specific. This could be 10-14 days or several weeks. 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