I am doing a home infusion tomorrow where the client has a port a cath. I have done port a caths in the past....I always check for blood return.
Apparently the case I am going on tomorrow uses 50ml bags to flush. That is no problem, but how do I check for blood return. I can't! I called my boss and she said it is not needed to check for blood return. But, isn't it? I thought that was a must with port a caths.
The policy and procedures are a little fuzzy with this company I work for. There is no p/p book for me to refer to and everytime I ask to get it printed off they always seem to forget. It is really driving me nuts.
every time I access a port-a-cath I check for a blood return prior to infusing a med. It's needed to verify placement. Although I work in an inpatient setting rather than homecare...I'm not sure if there are differences?
Does the bag have a Y-site? When we infuse chemo, IV push, we usually have a free flowing bag of NS and push the chemo through a Y site. We check for blood return every 2-3 minutes of the push.
ilovenursing2009
215 Posts
I am doing a home infusion tomorrow where the client has a port a cath. I have done port a caths in the past....I always check for blood return.
Apparently the case I am going on tomorrow uses 50ml bags to flush. That is no problem, but how do I check for blood return. I can't! I called my boss and she said it is not needed to check for blood return. But, isn't it? I thought that was a must with port a caths.
The policy and procedures are a little fuzzy with this company I work for. There is no p/p book for me to refer to and everytime I ask to get it printed off they always seem to forget. It is really driving me nuts.
Thanks for you help!