New syringe every day?

[MNNurseCorps]

Our unit changes out the syringe and graduated cylinder used for tube feedings every day, along with the tube feeding bag. Is this common practice for ya'all?

[DDRN4me]

absolutely... q 24 hours should be the standard for infection control...think about what those formulas and meds are made of ....

[leosrain, BSN, RN]

We change them q24h here as well.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

several years ago, i worked at a fairly small long term care institution that had a certified infection control nurse on staff. She actually tested this out,(she had a bachelors in micro)....and we hence forth used the syringe and the container used for water fllushes for a week at a time....

[MrsWampthang, BSN, RN]

We change our pistons every day, as well as the bags or tubing for feedings every day. I have heard of places that change them once a week. I guess that might be ok, if the syringes were rinsed out with water after every use, but if meds or feeding were left to dry in them, I can't imagine that germs woudn't fester in them. At our facility we have the pistons that come with the bottle to hold the water for flushing. Most of the nurses leave the bottle full of water all day long and put the syringe in that bottle of water after every use. I don't use that water, I will get a glass of water separate from the glass I use to hold the meds and use that. Something about using water that has sat all day just doesn't sit well with me.

Pam

[weirdRN, RN]

Everyday.

While the nurse in the one facility tested it and it worked just fine for her, all it takes is ONE microbe to get into an immunosupressed/compromised patient and the patient is going to become at the very elast, seriously ill. Why risk it? What are you saving? a couple of dollars a day by not changing the syringe and tube feed? What would you loose if that patient became more ill than before? Perhaps thousands? What would the patient loose? Potentially more. Their life.

[all4schwa]

I've noticed that the Kangaroo bags will just quit running when they're old...sticky on the inside, I suppose.

[MNNurseCorps]

Yes, I agree with changing out the tubing, but we also change out the graduated cylinder and syringe we use for meds and free water. My point being that everything is going into the G.I. tract, so changing out each day to avoid contamination/infection seems a little overkill and a waste of money. Agreed?

[tatgirl]

It is our policy to change the piston syringes, and gravity tube feeding bags q 24 hrs. When I hang new bottles of formula for the continous feedings, I always change that tubing too. A couple of the nurses that I work with, dont change the tubing. yucky!!!

Wendy

LPN

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

infusion nurses society standards are every 24 hr. changes

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Everyday.

While the nurse in the one facility tested it and it worked just fine for her, all it takes is ONE microbe to get into an immunosupressed/compromised patient and the patient is going to become at the very elast, seriously ill. Why risk it? What are you saving? a couple of dollars a day by not changing the syringe and tube feed? What would you loose if that patient became more ill than before? Perhaps thousands? What would the patient loose? Potentially more. Their life.

a case for individualazed care?....but not to spend the extra money on all patients....

[BJLynn]

We change anything associated with the tube feed once every 24 hours. Third shift usually does it when they do the 3am meds. For those on the bottles (big plastic containers for Fibersource HN), we change the tubing when we change out the bottle(which is generally q 20 to 28 hours).