syringe to collect specimen from foley?

[nursing81student]

Although P&P say otherwise in my facility, I have only seen people (and I do the same) collect urine specimens out of the foley BAG and not use a syringe in the port. Personally, I empty the bag, then collect the specimen from the urine that collects after. I/others do this for Culture and Sensitivity also. I learned in school it should be collected from the port. I float to 5 different hospitals and I have always seen it this way. I am just curious what the norm is in other facilities...

(I am aware that I should not do something just because it is the "norm" or because "that is the way it's always been done"...I am merely just curious and for some reason never really gave this much thought until now...)

Thanks

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

the bag can be contaminated (this is why you never let the bag and drainage tubing be above the surface of the bed). you can scrub the port for sampling to minimize the chance that you will be introducing bacteria into the system.

[StrwbryblndRN]

We collect from the port. That is the best way. One nurse the other night did get a UA from the bag but the foley was placed just minutes before.

[nursing81student]

Thank you for the quick reply. I can't help but wonder why this is the norm why I work. hm. I have been educated on all this at school but I guess I am just on "auto-pilot" at work and so used to getting it from the bag. Well I work the next few days, if I have to get a specimen I think I will use a syringe!

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

I clap the tubing close to the port, clean the port, and collect with a 10cc syringe. I have never seen anyone collect from the bag unless it was just placed.

[freda_o]

i only draw it from the bag after i had just put in the foley; after the bag's been open once and again it's not considered sterile. otherwise, i get it from the port.

[AgentBeast, MSN, RN]

I've only ever seen it collected from the port. The bag is considered to be a non-sterile environment so you are likely to obtain inaccurate C&S results drawing urine from the bag.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

Port, here. But I did have a thought....we worry about "contamination" of the urine. It's a sterile setup when we place it. The only bacteria that should be in the bag should be what came out of the patient (unless you're letting the bag sit on the floor, and the wee beasties are crawling off the tile). Wouldn't that make a C&S work even faster, since there'd be a higher concentration of bacteria?

[Dixielee, BSN, RN]

I clap the tubing close to the port, clean the port, and collect with a 10cc syringe. I have never seen anyone collect from the bag unless it was just placed.

Yes, what Sun said :)

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Port, here. But I did have a thought....we worry about "contamination" of the urine. It's a sterile setup when we place it. The only bacteria that should be in the bag should be what came out of the patient (unless you're letting the bag sit on the floor, and the wee beasties are crawling off the tile). Wouldn't that make a C&S work even faster, since there'd be a higher concentration of bacteria?

It is supposed to be placed using sterile technique, yes. How many times have you witnessed contamination by the provider when the foley is placed? I have seen some pretty shoddy sterile technique-most of the time from surgeons!

I don't understand your last question. Do you mean that taking the sample straight out of the bag when draining would make the C&S work faster? Perhaps, but the incidence of contamination at the drainage site would then render the C&S invalid, right? That's why we use the port, just as you have been doing.

[tiroka03, LPN]

The port, and only the port. Unless, I just replaced the bag first.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

I was just wondering if we let the urine "cook" in the bag we'd get the bacteria bloom that would be more indicative of what the patient was growing -- don't know, just a random thought. I'm writing a paper for school, and I think I blew my frontal cortex about 3 pages ago...