Metallic taste/nausea with saline flushes

[BiohazardBetty]

Is there anything y'all can suggest to decrease the metallic taste my patients experience when their central lines are flushed? Almost all of my chemo patients say they can taste it, but today I had a patient who vomited for nearly 2 hours after his port was accessed! Then he refused nausea medicine because he knew it would have to be mixed in saline. He said it doesn't matter how slow its pushed, he always at least is nauseous when his line is flushed with saline.

Can I access the port with just a heparin flush instead of a saline flush? Does it still taste the same if I draw it up from a bag or vial of saline? He said sucking hard candy doesn't help... A seasoned nurse told me to try a Kleenex sprayed with some smell the pt likes may help??

[Broc]

The most recent study done from 2014, is the first to measure and compare taste and odour disturbances associated with 2 syringe preparations of NS in a pediatric population. The study [Full text] is here for those who wish to read it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214577/pdf/cjhp-67-353.pdf

Authors concluded it "these disturbances have been attributed to the leaching of volatile substances into the NS from the plastic of the syringe." However the pathophysiology was not investigated in this study or previous cited papers. The authors stated the limitations in their paper and the direct of future research into this phenomenon.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Thank you Broc I am going to post that study in out IVT office!

[babydeern]

When I worked inpatient if my patients complained of that taste, I would pull up the saline from those 10 ml plastic vials and the patients always said they didn't taste anything!

[OCNRN63, RN]

I always get that metallic taste. In fact, I get it up in my sinuses. The other day my port was being uncooperative, but all of a sudden I got this rush of metallic taste up in through my nose. Piece of peppermint gum took it away.

[NurseKate16]

I always thought the metallic taste was from the heparin flush? My patients complain at the end when I flush their port with heparin, and then again at their next treatment when I use saline to flush the port again (we were told this is because the old heparin is flushing through). Is that not the case? I never thought it was the saline.

[marialsnd]

In my experience of having my port flushed, I definitely can taste the saline flushes but not the heparin flush. For the bed taste from the flush I either suck on wintergreen certs or chew gum, preferably cinnamon flavored. I didn't have luck with sour (such as lemon drops), but if it has a strong flavor, especially with a little bit of a bite to it, I don't notice the bad tasted.

[db2xs]

This has been a great thread and very informative for me. I will recommend candy or mints for any patients who complain about the metallic taste. I actually had one patient who liked the taste, which was surprising to me, but hey, that's the beauty of difference!