So - once again - we have a "national standard" without any evidence whatsoever to support it. This process, including the "logic" behind it, is an embarrassment to all of us who advocate for evidence-based practice.
Even if you feel compelled to defend the current (or previous) standards documents, this is just too much. Good grief! Marilyn Hanchett RN -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lynn Hadaway Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 9:54 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: outpt infusion reusing IV tubing 72hr This practice would be in direct conflict with the INS standards of practice. This set would be an intermittent set, therefore it should be changed every 24 hours according to the INS standards of practice. CDC guidelines states this is an unresolved issue. There are absolutely no studies that have looked at the use, change interval or anything regarding sets used for intermittent infusion. This is the reason for the INS standard of changing every 24 hours. You are manipulating both ends of the set frequently. Based on principles of basic infection control and in the absence of any studies, it seems wise to follow the standards. One the other hand, your facility could do a study of this practice and publish your findings which would benefit everyone. Also, the INS standards apply to all settings. While primary and secondary sets should be changed no more frequently than 72 hours, INS separates the intermittent sets and this would apply to both inpatient and outpatient settings. One other thought is that you would need to have a foolproof method to make sure that the right set gets hooked back to the right patient each day. I can imagine lots of cross-contamination between patients if they were to get mixed up. With busy, understaffed units, I can easily see this happening. Lynn At 7:50 PM -0400 5/15/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >To reduce cost a suggestion was made to reuse the IV tubing for 72hours >on a patient that comes in for daily infusion. The patient would have a >PICC and come for maybe daily abx's. The infusion is done the tubing >flushed with NS, disconnected from the PICC and a sterile cap placed on >the IV tubing. It is stored in the med room and used by the same pt for >3 infusions. >We have been discarding the tubing daily and replacing with new IV >tubing daily. > >Any support for or against this suggested practice. P&P is for tubing >change 72 hrs but that was written for inpt > >Thanks > >Pat Dobson -- 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
