I am a nursing student (one year done, one year to go) and I started a job as a tech in the ER last week. I am being trained by other techs for most things, and doing foleys, bloods, and enemas under the supervision of a nurse.
Last night while showing me around the tech who is responsible for training me told me that foley caths are also used rectally. He explained that when a person is comatose they will put in a urinary foley and a foley in the rectum, feed the person a full-liquid diet via tube feedings, and then their elimination is all water and collected via a rectal foley. He said they do this in the ICU.
Is this for real?? I don't want to ask the nurses because I am still getting the layout of the land so to speak and don't want to cause any waves by sounding disbelieving of this tech, who seems to be pretty well-respected.
Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, Home Health, Oncology.
Hi
we used to use large foley catheter & inflate the baloon; We had a policy to deflate every hour & reinflate after moving around a bit. Needed a specific order.
Our ICU uses something that sounds like the zassi tubes. The tube is long and flexible, like ziploc bag plastic, baout two inches wide. Held in by a doughnut filled with water. They seem to be working really well. Never seem them use actual foleys, even though the zassi tubes are really new. They say they are very expensive though. 200-300 bucks.
nursemary9, BSN, RN
657 Posts
Hi
we used to use large foley catheter & inflate the baloon; We had a policy to deflate every hour & reinflate after moving around a bit. Needed a specific order.
we don't do that anymore--use the zassi tube.
Much better for the patient
Mary Ann