Good Morning -
Has anyone experienced difficulty obtaining a blood return through the ICU Medical Microclaves (clear)? Our facility switched from the MaxPlus about 9 months ago. Since that time, we've experienced issues with the Microclaves. We (Vascular Access team) are often called for partial line occlusions but when the Microclave is removed, blood return is brisk. There is no visible clot or blood noted in the clave. This occurs at least 2-5 times a week.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks...
Sara E. Owens, BSN, RN, CPN, CRNI
Assistant Nurse Manager - Vascular Access
St Louis Children's Hospital
We do not draw blood thru an end cap
Darla Tarvin RN VA-BC
Mercy Clermont Hospital
Thank you for sharing this Sara. Our PICC nurse has the same opinion as you regarding the microclave. I have been using the Microclave in home care and hospice for years and the hospital just switched from the Clave to Microclave a few months ago. No offense to any one but I have never been a fan of the Clave and as soon as I got a patient with Claves I immediately changed the needleless connector to a positive fluid displacement type. I have blamed technique in the hospital for lack of blood return on admission. It does not matter what type of needleless connector the hospital uses, when we get the central lines from them I can guarentee 90% of the time we do not have a blood return on admission. That number has gone down since we switched the brand and type of PICC lines we place. I am anxious to see what others have to say. Valorie
Valorie Dunn,BSN, RN, CRNI, PLNC
We use the Max plus and have very good results after extensive teaching on proper technique. I hear that our main hospital has chosen a new cap, I think this is the one they have chosen. I am very interested in what everyone has to say.
Our institution switched to the microclave after our trial of the Bard Solo PICC where we documented an increase of 34% of occluded lines. We since have switched to the Bard Power PICC with microclave and have about a 17%. I believe our occlussion rate would be less if the end users (bedside nurses) all practiced good flushing technique. I see the most issues with the 3Fr. PICC lines in pediatrics and again our issues are with inconsitant practices at the bedside.
We draw blood through the regular MicroClave in our neonatal umbilical catheters (3 & 5 Fr) have never had a problem in the many years that we have used this practice. I find this device particularly well suited for our small population due to the minimal internal volume.
Janet Pettit DNP, NNP-BC, VA-BC™, CNS