This article aims to help nurses to undertake the removal of non-tunnelled central venous catheters (CVCs) in a safe, effective and patient-centred manner. A non-tunnelled CVC is inserted directly into a central vein with its tip usually located in the vena cava or right atrium.
Insertion of a CVC can increase the risk of pneumothorax, haemorrhage, air embolism and infection. Air embolism is a potentially catastrophic, although uncommon, event that occurs as a consequence of air entering the venous system. This can be avoided if the CVC is removed correctly.
CVCs may remain
Clinical skills articles can help update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of:
How reading this article will change your practice when removing a non-tunnelled CVC.
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Nursing Standard. 30, 16, 36-38. doi: 10.7748/ns.30.16.36.s44
Correspondence Peer reviewAll articles are subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software.
Received: 16 January 2015
Accepted: 07 July 2015
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