Is there a difference between a cordis and TLC?

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Is there a difference between a cordis and triple lumen catheter or is the terminology used interchangeably?

I thought there was a difference but maybe I'm wrong.

Would like some feedback from my nursing sisters and brothers please :clown:

Thank you!

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Two different things. Cordis is actually a brand. What most folks mean when they refer to a line as a cordis is a double or single lumen introducer that allows for LARGE and rapid infusions and they also allow for insertion of a pulmonary artery catheter.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
patient adv said:
Is there a difference between a cordis and triple lumen catheter or is the terminology used interchangeably?

I thought there was a difference but maybe I'm wrong.

Would like some feedback from my nursing sisters and brothers please :clown:

Thank you!

The "Cordis" is a brand name. Kind of like "give me a Kleenex please" Kleenex is the brand name tissue is the thing it is. Cordis is used interchangeably with an "introducer" or "sheath"...."sheath introducer" a large single lumen catheter used to cannulate (like an IV catheter in the vein in the ..just bigger) the vessel whether artery or vein. This can be used by itself as a single lumen catheter or used as an entry point to thread additional infusion or monitoring devices into the catheter itself for infusion or monitoring purposes ie: Swan Ganz, also known as a PA catheter; triple lumen, also known as a multi lumen catheter which can also be a CVP line; dialysis catheters ect........or.....an arterial line which an IABP (intra aortic balloon pump counter pulsation cardiac assist device) can be inserted.

A triple lumen is a 3 lumen catheter with a proximal port (closest to the skin), medial port (between skin and SVC), and distal port or CVP port in the SVC (superior vena cava) or RA (right atrium) of the heart. It is also called a multi-lumen catheter. I believe it was "Bard" that coined the phrase "triple lumen".

So you are right they are different....but are unfortunately used interchangeably. Know the idiosyncrasies of the facility and the difference's of your MD's.

:smokin:Which reminds me of a very funny story. I was in the ED and there was a new nurse in the trauma room with the trauma surgeon. The surgeon was from another part of the country.where I was from)... I heard him asking for "The Cordis, The Cordis! I want the Cordis!":D and I heard the nurse turn and say..."What did you say to me??? I beg your pardon!!!" and she stormed out of the room came up to me and it dawned on me what she thought.

She was indignant and said to me "You have to go in there right now and set him straight.......He keeps asking me for COITIS!!! :eek:over and over again, COITIS!! :eek:WHat the *&^% is wrong with HIM!! Does he really thing he's getting sex....I'll sue him for sexual harassment"

I bust out laughing and told her he wanted a cordis....the introducer.....NOT COITIS...or SEX!!!!:lol2:

Know your local lingo....;)

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Where I work, you might see a cordis in a trauma patient or a post-op transplant patient. The cordis is BIG. Think of a coffee straw.

The triple lumen central line is more commonly seen.

Hospital policy says we cannot transfer a patient to the floor from the ICU with a cordis, so either the doctor changes it over a wire to a triple lumen central line or it is removed.

I once had a patient with an IJ cordis years ago. I helped him out of bed to a recliner. I didn't realize that his IV tubing had disconnected from his cordis when he stood up (the line was on the opposite side of his neck from where I was standing). There was no cap on the cordis to prevent bleeding out of the line. All of a sudden he turns gray and looks at me and says "I am going to die". Luckily the doctors were right there and I figured out quickly what was happening and the man recovered quickly.

You can bleed out quickly from a cordis.

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Specializes in cardiac stepdown, pre-hospital.

my floor gets a lot of post-op CABG patients.. they often come with a cordis...that I love for selfish reasons.. mainly I have great access and I don't have to worry about nurse collect draws in the AM.

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Specializes in Thoracic Cardiovasc ICU Med-Surg.

We get patients with a CORDIS all the time, and I love them! We call them MAC lines for some reason. The PA part is capped off when they come over. Usually they are put in the internal jugular vein.

Triple lumen caths can be put in SC vein, EJ, fem etc.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
tcvnurse said:
We get patients with a CORDIS all the time, and I love them! We call them MAC lines for some reason. The PA part is capped off when they come over. Usually they are put in the internal jugular vein.

Triple lumen caths can be put in SC vein, EJ, fem etc.

A MAC line is another slang that is utilized at a facility....MAC stands for Monitired Anesthesia Care. B:)ecause anesthesia inserts the cordis, it is refered as a MAC line.

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Specializes in ABMT.

I was taught that MAC stood for multiple access catheter; 4 or 5 lumens, as opposed to the standard 3. A cordis line could fall under that category, I suppose, since it has multiple lumens, but not all MACs are cordises.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
porterwoman said:
I was taught that MAC stood for multiple access catheter; 4 or 5 lumens, as opposed to the standard 3. A cordis line could fall under that category, I suppose, since it has multiple lumens, but not all MACs are cordises.

Therein lies my point.......learn the lingo of your surroundings.....:up:

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