nurse2teach

what process do you use? eg: wasting 2- 2.5ml of blood, nothing else can be in that line like heparin, antibiotics, etc. process of placing sample on filter paper (ie- no needle) Or are there any other guidelines that are used? and do you have any invalid specimens related to this process that you know of? what do you do with your micropreemies?

General guidelines recommend heelsticks for newborn blood screening. What are the guidelines/protocols used in your institutions regarding drawing specimens for newborn screening via central lines?

A question regarding chloraprep- I see that many of you are using chloraprep for IV starts and line changes. Is it not true that chlorpaprep is not to be used in children under 2 months of age due to lack of research?

NeoNurseTX , Thanks for the response. Does your institution have a written policy or guidelines regarding these parameters that you could share?( you could block out the name or it would be referenced appropriately). I am looking for anything related to this that I could present for policy consideration ( ie increments of O2change, nurse/md action to maintain these sats, paramaters related to gestation). Your help is appreciated:)

I am desperately seeking a concise oxygenation policy/protocol/guidelines for nurses to use in NICU. I am not having much help from the neonatologists with narrowing this down. The research I have gotten seems to be all over and somewhat confusing for staff to implement. I would like to keep it simple and practical if possible but am in need of help. Anything you can share or suggestions would be appreciated?