Central Venous Catheters: Saline or Heparin for Locking?- Lack of patency is a common and confusing problem. Resistance when the catheter is flushed or failure to obtain the required brisk blood return before catheter use indicates a nonfunctioning catheter. Fluid flow by gravity may be extremely slow, or the infusion pump could present occlusion alarms. This problem disrupts patient care, threatens attainment of treatment goals, adds to the burden of limited nursing resources, increases the risk of additional complications such as infiltration or extravasation, and increases cost of care. This online continuing education program will focus on intraluminal causes of thrombotic occlusion, specifically on solutions used to flush and lock the catheter.
1.5 FREE CEUs for Nurses