Do you pre-inflate the balloon on a foley cath?

[VegGal]

I work in LTC and some nurses still pre-inflate the balloons on foley caths, while others don't. And now I'm confused and unsure which method to follow. Didn't nursing research find that pre-inflating foley cath balloons caused more damage than good? Which method do most nurses use? I was in RN school just a couple years ago and we were still pre-inflating back then, but since graduating I've come across conflicting info and am unsure which to follow.

Thank you.

[VegGal, BSN, RN]

Years ago there was a new nurse in our facility who inflated the balloon while still in the urethra in a mentally handicapped patient. of course he couldn't verbalize the pain, so thankfully someone said do an x-ray and that's when it was discovered. I imagine it's easier to do this if you have pre-inflated the balloon.

Why would it be easier to do that (make that same mistake the nurse at your facility made) using a pre-inflated balloon? Aren't the chances of a balloon remaining in the urethra the same whether it's pre-inflated or not? Just tying to understand it. Thanks.

[VegGal, BSN, RN]

We talked about this in school after an fun lab incident. We had pre-inflated per our school protocol and then on the second inflation the balloon exploded. Apparently that happens sometimes. Because the manufacturers say not to do it now... if you do re-inflate and something happens you've not followed the basic directions for the product. It makes lawsuits easy.

That makes sense re: following manufacturer's instructions. Thank you for sharing that story. I've never heard of one exploding.

[GM2RN]

That's how I'm beginning to see it too. No negative consequences to patient due to pre-inflating, so I'll probably continue to do that at this facility as they have no concrete protocol either way, and when asked they said that it's the accepted practice (to pre-inflate).

You stated above that your facility doesn't have a policy. In that case, I'd check the manufacturer's recommendations or instructions on the box and do what that says. That way, if the catheter fails, you at least have something in writing to point to as a reason for doing what you did or didn't do, rather than just "that's what I was told" without having a written policy to back you up.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

Why would it be easier to do that (make that same mistake the nurse at your facility made) using a pre-inflated balloon? Aren't the chances of a balloon remaining in the urethra the same whether it's pre-inflated or not? Just tying to understand it. Thanks.

See post #13. And post #16 from Ruby pretty much said it in a much better way.

[Asystole RN]

When using a medical device...a medical device that has instructions for use...why would you not follow the instructions for use?

The instructions are there for a reason I would think?

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

What happens if the balloon fails? The catheter falls out. So then you reinsert it. I heard that you don't inflate them because it can cause the balloon to be larger and more difficult to pass then.