To flush your catheter, you’ll follow a very clean process to inject it with one or both of these fluids: Saline, a specific mix of salt and water. Heparin, a drug that prevents blood clots from forming and clogging your catheter.

Caring for a Patient with a CVC Perform hand hygiene; don gloves and personal protective equipment. Perform the bed area safety check. CVC assessment is also part of this process. Perform a head-to-toe assessment.

Preventing a Problem with a Central Line

1. Wash your hands before doing any central line care and wear gloves.
2. Always keep a clean and dry dressing over the central line site.
3. Follow the instructions for cleaning the cap and using sterile equipment.
4. Avoid tugs or pulls on the central line.

Physical therapy sessions, including standing and walking were feasible and safe in cardiovascular ICU patients with femoral catheters who met the criteria for mobility interventions.

In general, femoral vein cannulation is not preferred because the groin site is difficult to keep clean and patient ambulation is difficult. These lines should not be kept for more than 24 to 48 hours.

Clean the outside threaded area of the lumen with an alcohol wipe for at least 30 seconds. Place a new cap securely into the open end. If you do not have a new cap, wrap the end of the lumen with sterile gauze until you can get a cap. Flush catheter following the usual steps.

To protect the central line at home:

1. Prevent infection. Use good hand hygiene by following the guidelines on this sheet.
2. Keep the central line dry.
3. Avoid damage.
4. Watch for signs of problems.
5. Avoid lowering your chest below your waist.
6. Tell your healthcare team if you vomit or have severe coughing.

How to flush the line. A central venous catheter must be flushed every day to keep it clear of blood and prevent clotting. If it ends in more than one line (lumen), flush them in the same order each time.

The desired point of femoral vein puncture is 1 to 2 cm inferior to the inguinal ligament. Bleeding due to a vascular impalement here can be controlled by externally compressing the vessels against the femoral head. The retroperitoneal space lies superior to the inguinal ligament.

The measurement of CVP obtained through a femoral approach can be an alternative to a superior approach (internal jugular or subclavian) [6]. In 60 patients undergoing hemodynamic study, Walsh et al.

The site to choose should be 1-2 cm below the inguinal crease, about 1cm medial to the femoral pulse. Be sure to enter below the inguinal crease to avoid retroperitoneal puncture. Using the blue 25 ga needle anesthetize the skin with lidocaine, and then the subcutaneous tissues with the green 22 ga needle.

A 10 mL flushing volume after blood sampling is appropriate because fibrin contact with the catheter wall is limited to some minutes. In contrast, after a blood transfusion a flush of 20 mL is required because fibrin might deposit to the catheter wall during a prolonged time.

Put on clean gloves, goggles, and gown. If the line being removed is in a femoral site, use Doppler ultrasound to locate femoral artery 1 to 2 inches above the entrance site of the femoral line. Mark with ‘X’ using indelible pen. Turn off the monitor alarms and then turn off the flow clamp to the flush solution.

A tunneled central line is a thin tube (catheter) that is placed in a vein for long term use. It is most commonly placed in the neck (internal jugular) but may also be placed in the groin (femoral), liver (transhepatic), chest (subclavian) or back (translumbar).

A central line is an intravenous catheter or IV placed into a large vein. A central line is needed to give the medical team access to a large vein that can be used to give fluids, measure the amount of fluid in the body, or to give medication that might be irritating to smaller veins. Your child will be sedated for the central line insertion.

Location of Central Lines – The nominal size (h) and the spacing between characters (a) shall be taken as the basis for defining the central line. Range of Nominal Sizes – The nominal size is typically one of the sequence 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm, 10 mm, 14 mm, 20 mm.