lets make someone uroseptic

[ohbet]

Ive always understood that when flushing a foley catheter,cause there is no urine output and it might be plugged up and you have a dr. order,a nurse should use sterile tecnique.I make this point because a nurse told me she use clean tecnique,although she uses sterile ns and a sterile syringe.

What say you? How do you flush a foley?

[nursbee04]

I'm just a little nursing student, but we have been taught sterile technique all the way. Why would you not use st. tech and risk giving the patient a whole new problem?

[neneRN, BSN, RN]

Sterile technique is of course always best, but I guess it could be done using careful clean technique assuming you kept away from touching the sterile tip of the syringe and the ends of the connecting portions of foley cath and drainage tubing (holding on farther back)

Now that I think about it, I think we were taught this in school using clean technique. As soon as you disconnect the tubing to flush, wouldn't you break sterile technique by touching with your sterile gloves?

[flowerchild]

I have always used clean technique for this procedure. Disconnect, wipe with alc, careful not to touch the tip of the tubing, insert sterile syringe with sol, and flush. The increased risk of infection comes fromt the flushing itself, in that, you are flushing whats in the tubing back into the bladder.

[Vsummer1]

Originally posted by flowerchild

I have always used clean technique for this procedure. Disconnect, wipe with alc, careful not to touch the tip of the tubing, insert sterile syringe with sol, and flush. The increased risk of infection comes fromt the flushing itself, in that, you are flushing whats in the tubing back into the bladder.

I haven't done this yet in school, but this is what they taught us, except we are to wipe the connection prior to disconnecting it.

[emily_mom]

Same as Val here.

Kristy

[New CCU RN]

sterile technique

[ohbet]

Thanks guys,different responses but all helpful

[LoisJean]

Sterile technique. Why? Because the sterile equipment is available in a hospital setting-- I recall the time when, at a patient's home, I was given the verbal order to flush her indwelling foley catheter. I had alcohol swabs and sterile gloves in my kit; I had no sterile saline and no sterile syringe because at that time I was working for an inner city home care agency that was 'conserving' supplies and a foley flush was not on my list of things to do that day. So, I made my own sterile saline using her table salt in boiling water; put the turkey baster in another pot and boiled it, too. It all worked fine- she got relief and I got to go home. Doc had no problem with this - but I questioned my supervisor the next day---(us older folk were trained to do EVERYTHING STERILE.) She was so relieved that I had not found it necessary to send my patient to the ER for a foley flush and that I saved on a 'few supplies'. I would have preferred STERILE. I left that place soon after.

Peace,

Lois Jean