Comparison of normal saline and heparinized saline in IV locks In neonates

Authors

Alyce A. Schultz PhD, RN, Maine Medical Center
Debra Gillespie PhD, RN, University of Southern MaineFollow
Hilary Hewitt RN, Apria Healthcare

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2002

Publication Title

Applied Nursing Research

Abstract

In this randomized double-blind experiment of 49 neonatal intensive care unit patients, probable time to catheter failure was significantly longer (p = .0358) for catheters flushed with heparinized saline (median = 127) compared with those flushed with normal saline (median = 39). This is in contrast to the nonsignificant difference (p = .841) in mean scores for six heparin-flushed catheters (M = 41.5 hours, SD = 44.0) compared with 18 saline-flushed catheters (M = 30.4 hours, SD = 20.8) discontinued for reasons other than completion of treatment. We concluded that survival time analysis is necessary when evaluating results of time-dependent studies in which the end point may not be elective.

Comments

Copyright © 2002 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommended Citation

Schultz, A., Drew, D. & Hewitt, H. (2002). Comparison of normal saline and heparinized saline in IV locks In neonates. Applied Nursing Research,15(1), 28-34. doi:10.1053/apnr.2002.29520