[exitthedragon]

Hello,
I am a new nurse. (working for an agency) I am being offered a case as a clinical trial nurse.I am very excited, I have done reshearch trials before and I love the whole feild.I am very comfortable drawing blood venously but I will be working with SN infusions and drwing blood from portacaths.I only did this once with my instructer in my clinicals. Will anyone share their knowlegde of the correct procedures and safetly precausions ect. on SN infusions and drawing blood from portacaths.
Thank you very much ,
Angela

[phylisrn]

Here is a quick reference for drawing blood from PAC. The main thing to remember with these types of catherters is to remain STERILE at all times. These PAC are very easy to become infected and they are frequent sources of sepsis.
Really ,I think if you are going to be accessing and drawing blood from these you do really need a mini course.
These catheters have to be accessed with a Huber needle before blood is drawn and although it is a fairly simple procedure, it is best taught hands on.
Good luck with your new job.

[phylisrn]

Oh, here is the link I told you about:
http://www.uwmcacc.org/pdf/tunnelled.pdf

[exitthedragon]

Thank you so much.I agree I need a course on it.I told the company that ,as much as I wanted to accept that I was declining and that I signed up for courses .They said submit your paper work when you get registered and we will pay for it.Imagine how thrilled I was about that .
Thanks again,
Angela

[LadyNASDAQ]

It's really not hard to do but safety first is key. First, you must protect yourself and your patient from being blood infected. You where you are gloved and the patient where you have properly prepared the skin if it's a port a cath with whatever is used in your area. We use Chloraprep in most places on the East Coast but I know Calif. still uses Bentadine. Make sure when you push the Huber needle into the disc that you try to stay in the middle and always aspirate to be sure you are get a flashback of blood. If you don't, you haven't accessed it properly. If it isn't working, don't use it. You need to reaccess it again.

Hickmans are wonderful IMHO. You just treat them with care and either catheter be sure you are certain that the exit site is free from redness, swelling and infiltration. There should be NO matter exiting from it and be aware that they can exit pus if they're infected which has to be treated asap. The dressing should be translucent so you can see the site well and date it. If it is dirty and non-occlusive, take it off, clean the exit site and apply a new dressing. When in doubt, use sterile gloves and technique. I know that when I was taught, I was told always wear a mask and put one on your patient instructing that the patient should never breathe over the site.