What is a slick? (Concerning Cordis)

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey guys, new to the board and to an ICU experience. Just had a quick q. I heard somebody mention today that their pt had a cordis with a slick. I know a cordis is like a great big central line usually used to administer rapid boluses through and also as a place where a PA cath/transvenous pacer can be inserted through, but what is a slick and what is it used for? Excited to be a part of this board, it looks really cool.

I Thank ya

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Specializes in SRNA.

SLIC stands for single lumen internal catheter. It can be put in at the obturator site of a cordis to measure CVP. Alternately, it can be a reference to a double lumen catheter used to deliver multiple meds.

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sorry, but I still don't understand. Is the SLIC the part that say a PA cath would go into of the cordis in this picture or is the SLIC the part that you can infuse fluid through (the see through lumen @ the bottom right corner in the picture)? Or is the slic not even pictured in this image?

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Specializes in SRNA.

Maybe this image will help more - Here's your typical cordis as it comes in it's sterile packaging:

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See the yellow obturator site with the black O-ring labeled 'Cordis CVC?' On this picture, the portion of the Cordis extending to the left of that obturator site is the portion of the cordis that's inserted into the patient. Normally you'll probably just see that obturator site plugged with the blue cap labeled 'cap'. Alternately, you'll see a PA catheter inserted there if that's in use. The clear lumen that extends the other way from the obturator site is where you typically infuse fluids through. Another option is to insert a SLIC, which is a single lumen catheter:

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This would be used instead of a PA catheter if you wanted to monitor CVP. Where I work, we also have a double lumen catheter that you can place into that obturator site giving you multiple lumens to run medicines through in case you have an issue with compatibility, since normally a cordis by itself is just a huge single-lumen CVC.

Does that help?

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hey thanks so much for taking the time to explain that. For some reason it just wasn't sinking in. :yeah:

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Specializes in SRNA.

No problem!

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