Accessing Mediports

[abutters]

I have tried to find information about this and am having a difficult time finding much. We are an outpatient oncology clinic and have been discussing accessing mediports and how sterile a procedure it needs to be. We originally did the procedure as a clean technique and were very careful to not contaminate the actual site. The port of course is cleaned with chlorhexidine and not touched except to stabilize the outer portion. And of course the huber needle is sterile where where it's inserted. We did not wear sterile gloves or masks. Now they want us to do a sterile procedure with gloves and mask. Just wondered what other oncology offices were doing?

[catshowlady]

I work in a hospital, not a clinic, but we do sterile gloves & mask. Our P&P is actually quite detailed about how to do this step-by-step, since we don't have sterile syringes to use to prime the huber needle & extension. (Involves one sterile-gloved hand and one ungloved/clean hand for a couple of steps).

[RNKel, ASN, RN]

I'm only a student for now, but I accessed and changed a Huber needle on a medi port at the hospital a few months ago; I wore sterile gloves and mask, it was a sterile procedure.

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

My oncologist's office accessed my port with sterile technique - always & I had my portacath inserted in 1995. Per facility policy everywhere I've worked, it's a sterile procedure including the mask.

Hope this helps.

Blee

[loricatus]

In all the ERs I have worked it was always done as a sterile procedure with both the nurse and the patient wearing masks. Having seen a few patients in the ER with infected port areas, with one that lead to sepsis, I can certainly understand the need to maintain sterility during access. I think that your center is doing the wise thing by having it be a sterile procedure, especially since the patients are immunocompromised from the chemo.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Yes as you can see it should be sterile with sterile gloves and mask. You are instilling medications and flushes into the venous system where you can introduce bacteria, fungus etc. the INS and ONS recommend that this be done in a sterile manner as well. Any site care on any CVC (central venous catheter) should be done as a sterile . You should change your policy, if need be, to reflect this, as a clean technique is not meeting the standard of care. Some patients are very aware of how this should be done and will let you know if it is not done properly.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Inpatient oncology here, and it's a sterile procedure.