What is best practice when removing a dialysis cath? The question came up about whether to use a petroleum based ointment over the exit site once a catheter has been removed. My teams thought is following the INS standard for removing a nontunneled central vascular access device, which does state to apply a petroleum based ointment.
Thank you!
Yes, absolutely, definitely, without a doubt!! All hemodialysis catheters are much larger than a regular infusion CVAD. They leave a much larger hole with a much greater potential to such air into the bloodstream. So always seal it off with a petroleum based ointment and gauze dressing left on until that hole has completely closed. Air embolism is one of the complications on the hospital acquired conditions list, for which your hospital will not receive any payment for treatment. Air usually goes to the lungs but it can also easily go to the brain, causing a severe stroke and put the patient in a nursing home for the rest of their life. I am certain your hospital does not want to pay for those costs!! Over 9 years, the costs for my mother's care after a thrombus induced CVA was $250,000+ what the family paid, most of it in a nursing home. Air emboli to the brain produces similar outcomes. So you have to do all you can to prevent them and this ointment is the standard of care. 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