Endotracheal suctioning technique

hollyster · Jun 17, 2005

I've got a question. I've been away from the bedside for awhile but I've seen something of late that really disturbed me and I wanted the opinion of current ICU nurses.
I observed nurses using both water (I assume sterile) and a liquid antiseptic between passes into an ETT. When I was working clinical we just used sterile water.
Is this common practice now?
Someone please enlighten me. It seem to me that there is a possibility of introducing the antiseptic (not for consumption) into the patient albeit by slight amounts. Thanks

It is not common to put antiseptics in ETT in the units I have worked, in fact the one hospital stopped allowing nurses to use the sterile fish unless ordered.

Lung tissue is very delicate, antiseptic/astringents would damage the mucousal lining.

Holly

suzanne4, RN · Jun 17, 2005

Our fish are 0.9% Normal Saline, not water in the facilities that I have worked in. At least the pink ones are.

But an antiseptic??? No way...........too much damage to lung tissue.

They also work great for contact lens in a hurry....( the pink fish)...... :)

hollyster · Jun 17, 2005

Our fish are 0.9% Normal Saline, not water in the facilities that I have worked in. At least the pink ones are.
But an antiseptic??? No way...........too much damage to lung tissue.
They also work great for contact lens in a hurry....( the pink fish)...... :)

That is what our fish are NS in a pink fish.

bluesky, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2005

Our R.T's use normal saline fish as well though there is a huge debate between nursing and R.T. because evidence based practice does show that N.S. instillation is not supposed to work.

hayati · Jun 18, 2005

Thanks everyone,

I guess I should have mentioned what you guys are calling fish, we used too except we called them bubbles (although I do see the resemblance to fish) and we did use NS, not sterile water. Thanks for your feed back. My gut told me that this practice just seemed too dangerous for the lung tissue but it seems to be fairly common practice in this country. Thought I'd ask the bedside experts.

HillaryC, RN, CRNA · Jun 19, 2005

I guess I should have mentioned what you guys are calling fish, we used too except we called them bubbles (although I do see the resemblance to fish)

I've never heard them called fish, but then, I've only been a nurse for a year. We call them saline 'bullets' where I work.