PORTS

[jcc1990]

Im a relatively new nurse and the other night at work I was really busy and I forgot to look at my cheat sheet. I deaccessed a pt port and flushed it with 10CC of saline and only 3 ML of Heparin. I forgot that a port should be flushed with 5 ML of heparin. Do you think that it is ok I only flushed with 3 ML? Thanks

[RN403, BSN, RN]

Well, there is nothing that you can do about it now. We all make mistakes. I am sure that you will remember to flush with 5 ml now. I believe things will be okay.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

In all reality, the volume of your average port is less than 1mL. I've worked in a hospital where the standard of practice IS a 3mL Heparin flush. I wouldn't worry if I were you!

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

The volume of the portal chamber is going to vary based on the brand and the profile of the port. The profiles come in low, medium and high for most manufactures and the low to medium seem to be the most popular due to aesthetic reasons,with the low to medium being the most popular. It more than likely has a 1 ml or less volume plus whatever the volume of the non-coring needle set you had on it.The general rule is to have a flush that is at LEAST 2 x the total priming volume of the system (at whatever point you enter they system to perform the flush).

First don't worry too much because there is nothing you can do about at this point. It probably was enough to prevent a thrombotic occlusion unless the patient has a propensity to have this problem. Hopefully the patient is compliant and has her port accessed monthly and flushed. Heparin 100 units per ml 3-5 ml is the final flush that is most often recommended.