We are trying to determine, at our facility, what is the minimum flow rate needed for a central line to maintain the catheter's patency. The manufacturer's of the catheters that we use do not have a recommendation. The nurses caring for the heart failure population would prefer to not use a 'carrier' solution to maintain the catheter's patency.
Does your facility have a minimum flow rate for central lines?
Thank you for taking the time to respond!
Sharon
There are numerous factors involved with maintaining patency of all VADs and the vein. There is no magic rate of infusion that will maintain this patency. Are there intermittent medications prescribed on these patients? If not, then why is any fluids needed? Carrier fluids are used to piggyback intermittent meds and ensure the complete dose is flushed out of the pump cassette after the med has infused. No meds means no need for a carrier fluid. Depending on what type of meds you are infusing, you could have the drugs admixed in a syringe and use a syringe pump with microbore tubing connected directly to the VAD hub, again no need for a carrier fluid as there would be no large volume of drug left in the tubing. Immediately after it finishes, the syringe pump is stopped, disconnected and the VAD flushed and locked. Or simply infuse the med by gravity, no pump and no large residual in the set to worry about flushing out. Lots of options to reduce fluid intake. 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