Well, I don't think I am qualified to provide true legal
commentary because I am not a lawyer. I have never had a case with
facts even remotely related to a scenario where removed clamps have
caused some serious outcome. However, I do have a case where the
tubing was not adequately secured to a hemodialysis catheter and the
patient exsanguinated and died. This was a very large catheter though.
The clamps would be for the purpose of minimizing the risk of air
embolus or exsanguination. I suppose it would be possible for a lawyer
to argue that one of these events occurred because the clamp had been
removed and the injection cap was not properly attached. But both of
these actions would be required before the event could happen. A
properly capped lumen would not be open to allow air or blood into or
out of the lumen. If the cap was not adequately secured and there was
no clamp, air could get in or bleeding could occur. But this could
also occur if the administration tubing and/or injection cap came
apart during an infusion. In this scenario the presence or absence of
a clamp would not be the issue as it could not be used during an
infusion. Hope you follow my thinking on this, Lynn
At 2:27 PM +0000 1/29/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I know the answer to this question but would like some Legal commentary on PICC Nurses who "remove" the clamps to protect the patient and their PICC from staff who flush and clamp "incorrectly" resulting in costly and time consuming complications
--
Robbin K. George RN
Vascular Access Resource
Alexandria Hospital Virginia
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Dee Gary" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Thank you Lynn, that is what I suspected!!!Dee
Lynn Hadaway <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
It sounds to me like this rep is using unnecessary scare tactics to sell his product. However, there are many hospitals that prefer to have the catheter extension leg clamped during periods between infusions. When using a positive displacement needleless connector, clamping immediately will prevent the internal mechanism from working properly. In other words, the fluid held in the connector reservoir will not inject the refluxed blood out of the catheter lumen because the clamp is closed. The answer to this is to teach your nurses to wait a little bit of time after flushing and before clamping. This allows time for the positive fluid displacement to occur and then the catheter can be clamped. LynnAt 6:04 AM -0800 1/28/06, Dee Gary wrote:
I have a question for both groups:
A medical device sales rep has been telling us that using positive pressure caps (i.e. CLC 2000, Ultrasite, etc.) with open ended PICC lines, which have clamps on the extension legs, are a safety concern. He states that if a nurse forgets to clamp the extension leg, and the positive pressure cap comes off, then a bleed out situation could occur and this is a safety concern.
Can anyone that has had experience using positive pressure caps with open ended PICC lines please validate what we are being told?
Thank you very much!
Dee
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Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
http://www.hadawayassociates.com
office 770-358-7861
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Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RNC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
http://www.hadawayassociates.com
office 770-358-7861
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
http://www.hadawayassociates.com
office 770-358-7861
