Central venous catheters

Central Venous Catheters: Saline or Heparin for Locking?

Introduction
Central venous catheters (CVCs), peripherally-inserted central catheters (PICC lines), and other central venous access devices (CVADs) are frequently used in hospital care to administer fluids, drugs, blood and nutrition, and to withdraw blood for testing, among other purposes. These lines may be left in place for days or even weeks at a time.

Lack of patency is a common and confusing problem. Resistance when the catheter is flushed or failure to obtain the required brisk blood return before catheter use indicates a nonfunctioning catheter. Fluid flow by gravity may be extremely slow, or the infusion pump could present occlusion alarms. This problem disrupts patient care, threatens attainment of treatment goals, adds to the burden of limited nursing resources, increases the risk of additional complications such as infiltration or extravasation, and increases cost of care

This online continuing education program will focus on intraluminal causes of thrombotic occlusion, specifically on solutions used to flush and lock the catheter.

Accreditation Statement:
Saxe Communications is approved as a provider by the Vermont State Nurses' Association Inc., which is accredited as an approver of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses' Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider #1447.
Learning Outcomes?Upon completion of this program, the participant will be able to:
(To come)

Read all articles.
To receive continuing education credits click on "Obtain CE" in the bottom left box.
Follow instructions to log in.
Complete the post-test.
Complete the participant evaluation.
To earn 1.5 contact hours of continuing education, you must achieve a score of 70% or more. If you do not pass the test you may take it one more time.
Upon successful completion of the post-test your certificate will be issued immediately.
The fee has been waived through an educational grant from Covidien.
This program will expire October 30, 2012
Faculty Disclosure: No conflicts were disclosed.

VSNA and ANCC do not endorse any commercial products.

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Course Description Introduction Overview of Catheter Flushing Current Guidelines Clinical Issues with Heparin Side Effects of Heparin Lock Solution Costs Potential Alternative Locking Solutions Clinical Decisions References Bio Disclaimer Print Article	Show All Central Venous Catheters: Saline or Heparin for Locking? Introduction Central venous catheters (CVCs), peripherally-inserted central catheters (PICC lines), and other central venous access devices (CVADs) are frequently used in hospital care to administer fluids, drugs, blood and nutrition, and to withdraw blood for testing, among other purposes. These lines may be left in place for days or even weeks at a time. Lack of patency is a common and confusing problem. Resistance when the catheter is flushed or failure to obtain the required brisk blood return before catheter use indicates a nonfunctioning catheter. Fluid flow by gravity may be extremely slow, or the infusion pump could present occlusion alarms. This problem disrupts patient care, threatens attainment of treatment goals, adds to the burden of limited nursing resources, increases the risk of additional complications such as infiltration or extravasation, and increases cost of care This online continuing education program will focus on intraluminal causes of thrombotic occlusion, specifically on solutions used to flush and lock the catheter. Accreditation Statement: Saxe Communications is approved as a provider by the Vermont State Nurses' Association Inc., which is accredited as an approver of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses' Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider #1447. Learning Outcomes?Upon completion of this program, the participant will be able to: (To come) Read all articles. To receive continuing education credits click on "Obtain CE" in the bottom left box. Follow instructions to log in. Complete the post-test. Complete the participant evaluation. To earn 1.5 contact hours of continuing education, you must achieve a score of 70% or more. If you do not pass the test you may take it one more time. Upon successful completion of the post-test your certificate will be issued immediately. The fee has been waived through an educational grant from Covidien. This program will expire October 30, 2012 Faculty Disclosure: No conflicts were disclosed. VSNA and ANCC do not endorse any commercial products. up scroll Pause or Play down
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