f/c irrigation

yes you need an order to irrigate a foley cath. it's a invasive procedure into a sterile area... so i would always get and order.

Part of foley care in home health is to irrigate when needed, no order necessary. And I always irrigated in the ER without an order. I guess it's just the nature of the specialties. I know that many places require an order for epidermal lido for venipunctures, but in ERs it's standard.

I think if you're just "flushing" w/ a 10cc syringe of normal saline (sterile, of course) to make sure it's patent, you don't need an order. We do that on the floor occasionally. If you're running a continuous irrigation (CBI), that definitely needs an order -- though these are different as the former is a simple nursing intervention, while the latter is an ordered "procedural" intervention.

I think if you're just "flushing" w/ a 10cc syringe of normal saline (sterile, of course) to make sure it's patent, you don't need an order. We do that on the floor occasionally. If you're running a continuous irrigation (CBI), that definitely needs an order -- though these are different as the former is a simple nursing intervention, while the latter is an ordered "procedural" intervention.

10cc of NS isn't going to get you great results...........

At the facility I work for an RN can irrigate a foley cath without a doctor's order. As a matter of fact most doctors will ask you if you irrigated it before calling him/her.

10cc of NS isn't going to get you great results...........

Oh, you'd be suprised... 10ml will get you great results in a 3kg baby.