What do you lack dialysis catheters with?

[chatty-rn]

Just wondering what different units lock their catheters with. We use 1000unit/ml Heparin, does anyone use saline or stronger heparin? Thanks for your info.

[wordsmith]

We use 5000 unit heparin and use 0.1-0.2 mL over the limb length size stamped on the catheter ends.

If the patient's using an access, though, and still has the catheter in while they're transitioning to the access, we lock it with 1000 unit heparin and do it at the beginning of their run, last run of the week, so they'll still have time to clot when they finish their treatment.

[zimm4er]

we lock all our dialysis lines with 5000units/ml heparin--whatever the loading volume is

[happybunny1970]

We used to use 5,000 units/cc but something happened with our supply right about the time of that 'tainted heparin' fiasco (all of our supply comes through the Pyxis from the hospital pharmacy). Now we use 1,000 units/cc and load 0.2 cc more than the cath volume -- this is what our outpatient clinics in the area use as well. I think the reason we were originally using the 5,000 is that, as an Acute unit, we have many patient come in with temporary IJ catheters, and the higher dose of heparin was thought to give less chance of it clotting.

[sunfirebsn]

We currently use 1:5000 unit strength Heparin for the catheters, used to use 1:10,000 unit strength until a few months ago after the Dennis Quaid baby heparin issue and then I guess some of the 1:10,000 vials were recalled so our clinics switched to the 1:5000 to prevent any problems.