Is there a maximum dose as to how much heparin flush a pediatric patient can have in a 24-hour period. We use a 10 unit per mL syringe which is 3 mL, totalling to 30 units per flush. If the patient has 4 PIVs multiply that to the number of IV meds he/she gets in a 24-hour period, that is a lot of Heparin in there. Or should we just stick to saline flushes? Any ideas please. I will need references too if possible. Thank you.
We only use saline in our PIVs and our CVL volumes are 2 ml heparin 10 units. We go to 3 ml 10 units heparin in ports. I don't have references at hand but there are volumes to support the use of saline in PIVs. If PIVs are entered frequently for meds then saline should keep those patent without a problem.