Do you "foil" your lipid tubings?

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This is my first post so bear with me.

Does your unit require you to place aluminum foil (or other protective barrier) around your lipid tubings to protect from light? I have heard both ways on my unit we do "foil our lipids" but other surrounding hospitals do not. Does anyone have any current info on this? THANKS

Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.
We had one attending that did that, but we stopped after a while...the tubing only has .2ml in it,so they figured it wasn't worth it.

Elizabell...I am curious as to the rationale behind not changing TPN every 24 hours....aren't they afraid of sepsis with the higher glucoses and AA being a feast for bacteria?

I had a wonderful Infectious Disease doc say this at a conference I was at and I thought it was great food for thought:

Regarding the concerns about increased bacterial growth based on the high glucose in TPN, when was the last time you opened the lid on your sugar bowl and saw anything growing in it?

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Faithmd, that is a good point!!!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

ah, good point, but our sugar bowls also don't have wetness or other goodies that bugs love to chomp down and turn to ick. Wet a paper towel with sugar water and let it sit for a few days and see what happens :idea:

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ah, good point, but our sugar bowls also don't have wetness or other goodies that bugs love to chomp down and turn to ick. Wet a paper towel with sugar water and let it sit for a few days and see what happens :idea:

Right. And that's why we change anything with D15 or higher QD.

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At the same time, if you tajke that wet paper towel and put it ina completely sealed air tight container and sprayed it with Raid everytime you went to open it how would the bugs get in?

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At the same time, if you tajke that wet paper towel and put it ina completely sealed air tight container and sprayed it with Raid everytime you went to open it how would the bugs get in?

:lol2: So maybe if we spray the babies with Raid we won't have to change the lines!!!

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Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.

Oh goodness, I don't think any of us are saying we shouldn't change the lines...

I was merely bringing up something an Infectious Disease physician and fairly well-regarded researcher said at a neonatal conference. It really does make you think.

We change our TPN and lipid tubing daily. We change our IVF tubing (unless it is on a syringe pump-those are 72hrs) every 30hrs, when we hang a new bag/bottle of solution. That is what our pharmacy now requires. The meds they mix expire q 30 hrs. The only stuff that hangs for 72 hrs seems to be the stock solutions.

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Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.
:lol2: So maybe if we spray the babies with Raid we won't have to change the lines!!!

LOL! :yeah: If only infection control were that easy! I'd be first in line to buy my cans of Raid to put in my locker ;)

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Specializes in NICU.
Oh goodness, I don't think any of us are saying we shouldn't change the lines...

I was merely bringing up something an Infectious Disease physician and fairly well-regarded researcher said at a neonatal conference. It really does make you think.

We change our TPN and lipid tubing daily. We change our IVF tubing (unless it is on a syringe pump-those are 72hrs) every 30hrs, when we hang a new bag/bottle of solution. That is what our pharmacy now requires. The meds they mix expire q 30 hrs. The only stuff that hangs for 72 hrs seems to be the stock solutions.

I believe we're doing a study on central line infections- hence changing lines according to drip rates and changing lines on a sterile field. Also our mixed solutions expire q24.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

Raid would be good, but are sugar bugs like cockroaches LOL LOL :chuckle :p I just had an image of each beside with a trial size of Raid LOL

I just find it interesting that each place does it different. Like premnrs said, evidence based practice :) I'd have to see what the CDC recommends, but I don't feel like digging for it :)

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Oh goodness, I don't think any of us are saying we shouldn't change the lines...

I was merely bringing up something an Infectious Disease physician and fairly well-regarded researcher said at a neonatal conference. It really does make you think.

We change our TPN and lipid tubing daily. We change our IVF tubing (unless it is on a syringe pump-those are 72hrs) every 30hrs, when we hang a new bag/bottle of solution. That is what our pharmacy now requires. The meds they mix expire q 30 hrs. The only stuff that hangs for 72 hrs seems to be the stock solutions.

I know, I guess I was just making the point that if you betadine all of your ports on central lines before accessing them (and access them as little as possible) and perform sterile dressing changes when needed, you are limiting the ability of the bugs to get in. But if raid were all it took, wouldnt it be nice:chuckle !

I asked around and we do change lipid and HAL lines q 72 and Feeding lines q 24 (but the the actualy OG/NG/OD/ND tubes..those are 30 day tubes.) And all of our fluids are changes q24. I would be interested to know how infection rates compare and what other hospitals do.

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We used to foil our Amphotericin syringe and line, but we stopped that practice a year ago.

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