Re: Eliminating heparin from peripheral flushes

[Martha Pike]

Actually, there is a NEUTRAL cap available now. The RyMed Invision-Plus Neutral injection cap prevents blood reflux both on connection to and disconnection from the cap. Check out their website at: http://www.rymedtech.com Not only a great design, but it eliminates the human factor of using the correct technique with the various products. It does not matter with the Invision-Plus whether you clamp before or after flushing  - or don't clamp at all. So it should end the continual inservicing nightmare. It also has a double microbial barrier and a great demo to show that bacteria do not get through the valve even if you do not swab as well as you should. And it's labeled and guaranteed for saline only flushing! Our Connecticut folks have done an extensive trial with great results.  They had switched to saline flushing and had a LTC facility that had a really high percentage of PICCs clotting after the switch to saline. It was (of course) a technique issue, but the staff was convinced that it was the elimination of heparin flushing that caused the problem and was very resistant to the change.  After implementing the trial with the Invision-Plus, they had 0 clotted lines over the next several months. We will be switching nationwide soon. /Martha On Dec 9, 2005, at 2:05 PM, Judith Hopkins wrote: The problem with positive pressure valves is that in order to push out fluid on detachment of the syringe,  fluid/blood must be drawn into the valve upon attachment of the syringe. Sure, they may push fluid out upon detachment, but who knows how much blood is left in the valve? They're opaque so you can't visualize the inside of the valve. What IV therapy REALLY needs is a truly NEUTRAL valve which is yet to be found in the marketplace.   Judith Hopkins-Hyde, RN Hyde Communications Pownal, Maine ----- Original Message ----- From: Martha Pike To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 12:40 PM Subject: Fwd: Eliminating heparin from peripheral flushes It's not the gauge of the catheter that's the problem - it's the lack of a positive pressure cap. The same amount of blood will be pulled back into all gauge catheters by the action of the injection cap valve - if you are not using anti-reflux caps. The 24's reach a state of full occlusion faster because the blood  travels farther up the catheter lumen due to narrow diameter.