A question has been posed -
An outpatient cat scan facility is asking if it is required after catscan injection to do a post normal saline flush (peripheral IV) prior to IV removal. What they are saying is after the catscan there is no observed complication can they just remove the IV? Certainly if there was any indication of a complication a saline flush would be used to help confirm extravasation.
What is your practice?
Are they wanting to flush manually with a prefilled saline syringe or a power injection saline flush from the injector? Contrast agents are vesicants due to their hypertonicity. There will be contrast left in the catheter lumen and extension set which is tracked into the subq tissue as the catheter is removed. So manual flushing is best, in my opinion. If they have already flushed the contrast from the lumen with a power injection of saline, there is no need to do a manual saline flush. 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
Lynn - there would be no post saline flush either from the injector or manually.