[RKH-CSMC]

I am not a dialysis nurse but am curious what the flush protocol is for the various catheters. The amount/makeup of the flushes. Thanks for your help with my question.


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[3651bht]

Originally posted by RKH-CSMC:

I am not a dialysis nurse but am curious what the flush protocol is for the various catheters. The amount/makeup of the flushes. Thanks for your help with my question.

If the catheter is a tesio the amount of heparin to use for the flush is written on each lumen in cc/ml's. If the patient is not using a peripheral access for dialysis i.e.a graft or a fistula then the catheters are flushed with 5000:1 heparin. If the catherters are a back-up because of an "iffy" access then one would use 1000:1 heparin. Sometimes the catherters are not removed for awhile after a graft/fistula has been used. Hope this helps. Always check with the patient's dialysis nurse before because this is a patient's lifeline and you don't want to "mess" it up.