How To Draw Blood From A PICC Line

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. How do you draw blood from a Double lumen PICC line which has TPN running

    • 68
      don't stop TPN Flush 2nd port with 10mls of saline, draw back10mls back, discard, then take sample
    • 94
      Stop TPN wait 30 mins and then do the same as option 1
    • 6
      Just draw blood no flushing and no discarding
    • 210
      Stop TPN but immediatly flush with 10mls, draw back and discard and then take sample.
    • 49
      Non of the above-please expand

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LVN2beRN

9 Posts

Specializes in Hospice and MedSurge.

We don't stop TPN at all. You clean and flush your second port with 10ml Saline, draw and waste ten of blood, then with clean syrenge draw the amount of blood needed from lab. Then flush with 10ml of saline and then loc with 3ml of Heparin. Thats my biggest point is Hep lock after each use. These picc lines are so important but it seems as thow nurses forget to flush and hep lock. Then we have to depend on Cath flo to fix, which is crazy.

We Hep Lock our Central lines with 5 of Hep.

This is all part of our policy.

Cris

Specializes in Med-Surg, Ortho, Neuro..

I think my hospital used to stop TPN, flush other line, draw back and then take the sample (then flush and hep lock, of course). At least, that's what I was taught.

Now if the patient has TPN, they just do a stick in a different vein. I know it's one more stick for the patient, but the lab was having such trouble with the skewed lab results that I guess they decided it was worth it. (I'm not working at that hospital currently, so I don't know if it's changed)

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