Epidural

[Freshman RN]

My very good friend had a epidural put in monday for her surgery. Today when i helped get her back in bed, I noticed that the bottom of the tegederm had rolled exposing the entry point. My question is this, as a student nurse what shoud I do if this happened while in my care?

Thanks

[sjoe]

As a student nurse you should ask your instructor, since that person is aware of your skill level and would know how to guide you.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Just what sjoe said. And do it in a timely fashion. Post Conference is not the place to bring it up.

[yodakelly]

freshmanRN,

if your question was: what do you do when the epidural dressing rolls up?, i'd say that each institution is different, but at several hospitals i've seen the policy being limited to only reinforcing the dressing, not changing it completely. epidurals may or may not be sutured in place and often the pain service team or anesthsia personnel are in charge of changing the dressings. i would reinforce it to cover the insertion site and call the pain service RN to take a look at it.