I know this question has probably been run through the mill before, but I would like to post it once again.
There is a debate starting to gather steam at my hospital on testing the balloon on a foley before inserting it.
I'm a bit old school, and for the record, I DO test inflate the balloon. :chair:
I go as far as pulling off the syringe with the balloon up, usually not all the way, squeeze the balloon a tad, then re-attach the syringe bringing the balloon back down.
The opposition says blowing up the balloon stresses it needlessly, and could cause premature failure.
I've seen failures of all sorts with foley's in my 30 plus years in the biz, and unless someone can convince me with rock solid evidence....I'm not going to change my mind now!!
Kind of a medical Shakespere question: "To test the foley, or not to test,,that is the question". :chuckle
I test by blowing up the balloon only and waiting a moment to be sure it holds. I would never touch the balloon just because I may unwittingly contaminate it. I have had ballooon failures but they were caught during testing of the balloon.
I always test, was taught to test the balloon. Also, sorry for hijacking the thread, but what about the little forceps in the kit? I was taught by my preceptor to always use then when prepping the urethra-I have seen quite a few nurses where I work not using them. It seems to me that you prep with your "clean" hand so shouldn't they be used? If you just swipe with the cotton ball, possibly you could touch the genital area by mistake, and contaminate the whole process...?
I will also use the forceps till death do I part...:monkeydance:
Specializes in Hospice, OR, Home Health, Orthopedics.
I know this question has probably been run through the mill before, but I would like to post it once again.
There is a debate starting to gather steam at my hospital on testing the balloon on a foley before inserting it.
I'm a bit old school, and for the record, I DO test inflate the balloon. :chair:
I go as far as pulling off the syringe with the balloon up, usually not all the way, squeeze the balloon a tad, then re-attach the syringe bringing the balloon back down.
The opposition says blowing up the balloon stresses it needlessly, and could cause premature failure.
I've seen failures of all sorts with foley's in my 30 plus years in the biz, and unless someone can convince me with rock solid evidence....I'm not going to change my mind now!!
Kind of a medical Shakespere question: "To test the foley, or not to test,,that is the question". :chuckle
Mike
I was also taught to test. Have always tested. Will always test. In 31 years of nursing I've had some few equipment failures, majority have been fine, but the few that you would have to replace, as some wonderful nurse has already stated so clearly, will make the patient run the additional risk of UTI with foley re-insertion. Insertion in the first place (in a very small area) is an irritant...etc. Preaching to the choir here...but ain't we good?
Specializes in Hemodialysis/Oncology/Cardiac Tele/DOU.
To test or not to test..that is the question. I will continue to test. Something had to have happened at some point that made testing the foley balloon before inserting it into the bladder a nursing standard. Most likely the balloon failed (likely more than once) resulting in negative pt. outcomes. Change is good but debating this issue seems a bit frivolous. Especially when there are far more relevant and pertinent issues that hospital's should be re-evaluating. The "foley focus" the hospital is having is moot. That horse has been dead a long time. Why start beating it again? I've been a nurse for a few years now and I continually learn. Something that I feel we as a profession should be aware of (this is NOT legal advice). What ever your hospital's policies and protocols are and we follow them down to the very last letter. If litigation is brought about,the hospital's P&P's do not cover us, something that I had always thought they would. We are ultimately held to National Nursing Laws of Practice in a court of law. Just something I feel compelled to pass along to others.
The one and only time that I did not test the balloon, the surgeon bent over the patient to do an exam after I inserted the foley, and there was a little hole in the catheter. The water was squirting up in a little stream (so small, hard to see) and right into the surgeon's face!! LOL!! We removed the foley (afetr all 10 ml of the water leaked out), and just did not replace it.
Chiming in to say that once when I tested the balloon it WOULD NOT deflate, can you imagine the pain THAT would have been upon d/c? Anything can be defective, the safegaurds are put there for a reason.
Im a student but we were taught just as part of the steps of the procedure to test the balloon. it reallly only takes a few seconds and if I were the paitent i wouldnt care about an extra three seconds. besides wouldnt you rather take an extra few seconds to test now rather than have to repeat the procedure if the balloon was defective? as for the foresepts we use them. they are in the kit for a reason.
chris_at_lucas_RN, RN
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