At my facility we have been changing Huber needles every 7 days since forever. During this same time we have seen dwell and hang times extended. We now know that the less we interact with patient devices and make holes in the skin the better the patient might be in terms of infection prevention. So it seems to reason that to de-access and re-access a problem - free needles and potentially cause an infection should cause us to ask WHY? Has anyone gone to an extended dwell time for the huber? Still maintaining the q7D dressing change.
I have never seen any studies on this issue. I have seen studies on extending the interval between routine access, flushing, and locking of implanted ports beyond the traditional one month. 2011 CDC guidelines calls this an unresolved issue and does not make a recommendation regarding the length of time an implanted port needle can remain in place. This usually means that it is an issue but there are no studies to guide a recommendation from them. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861