The nurse is drawing blood from a client's CVC. The spouse asks why the nurse discarded the first few milliliters of blood. What response by the nurse is best?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When drawing blood from a CVAD, it is important to withdraw sufficient blood to clear the catheter from the tip of the lumen to the needless adapter or stopcock. This space is filled with blood diluted by flush solution. The precise volume for the client's CVAD device should be available in the information about that device, and three times this volume is the exact recommended amount to discard. A general guideline is that 3 to 5 mL is usually sufficient to clear the catheter of all flush solution for tunneled, nontunneled, and port catheters. It is not done because the flush solution is incompatible with blood tube additives, the blood is contaminated with microbes, or there may be medication backed up in the tubing.

The Nurse Is Drawing Blood from a Client's CVC