success stories
Peripheral Access - a Nurse's Point of View
At our medical center, our success with aquapheresis
has been an amazing adventure. We have treated successfully using
central venous access and peripheral access.
Our first candidate was an 81 year-old gentleman.
We admitted the patient directly from the cardiologist's office
to a CCU bed with the nurses initiating the order set. We successfully
obtained adequate blood flow with 18 gauge and 20 gauge angiocaths.
We found that with two peripheral sites, starting
therapy with a slower blood flow is the key. With this particular
patient, our blood flow rate varied between 3O and 35 ml/min and
our maximum fluid removal rate was 250 ml/hour.
After a 24-hour run on the Aquadex FlexFlow system,
we removed our goal of 10 pounds. A total of 4.63 liters fluid was
removed. The patient was able to get up and move around in the room
without confinement and was more content. He lost edema in his lower
extremities and his activity level increased with a significant
decrease in shortness of breath.
Peripheral access enables the RN to initiate the
treatment earlier and with less time. The MD does not have to leave
his/her busy day to place a central line and the patient does not
have to go through an invasive procedure and take on the additional
risks associated with central line placement.
Everyone wins!
Courtesy of:
Clara I.
R.N.
Burlington, NC
February 20, 2006
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