RE: Radiology

[Chris Cavanaugh]

Denise, you are absolutely correct.  My focus has been MRI, not CT, however, I would not be surprised that what I have found in MRI departments mirrors what you have seen.  There are many MRI techs who have no idea what a “power PICC” is.  There are departments who have no nursing backup, techs only and they have rules not to touch a central line.  These patients will always get a PIV, or a butterfly just for the contrast, then it is removed.  Some departments have radiology nurses who come into MRI when needed.  Rarely is there an MRI with a dedicated nurse.   When there is a nurse, the contrast injections, either by hand or power injectors can be done through the central line.  The nurses do seem more knowledgeable regarding Power PICCs, in general, though some have never seen one.  I am sure the Power Ports will never be used—too confusing for staff that do not access ports now.  Ports are NEVER used for hand or power injection in the MRI area.  As far as accessing the Power PICC, mostly I have seen the connection through whatever end cap is on the Power PICC.  Rarely have I seen it removed.  I have never seen them replaced.  It is also very rare that the saline flush of the power injector is followed by a heparin flush, I have only been in one MRI department that had heparin flushes available.  I addressed these and some other safety issues in my talk at AVA.   Chris Cavanaugh, CRNI From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Denise Macklin Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 11:39 PM To: venous Subject: Radiology   You may respond to me privately, but I bet many on the list would be interested.  I have found in my travels that radiology departments are doing many different things when it comes to infusing contrast into power piccs for CT scans etc.  Some infuse through the connector, some take it off and mainline, some change the connectors others do not.  If you would like to share what procedure your radiology department is currently using, I am putting together some data on this topic.    Let me thank you for all your input in advance.  This is really an interesting question   Denise Macklin