Sanitize heparin bottles

cmbyrd60 · July 23, 2019, 12:16pm

Whats the best way to clean the ports on PD bags and tops of heparin bottles to prevent infection?
I’m using an alcohol rub then 5 min iodine pad.
Also needles have a plastic cap on them. Is that safe or should the needle be cleaned also?
Thank you
Colleen

Beth_Witten_MSW_ACSW · July 24, 2019, 11:20pm

So far as your question about disinfecting the medication port on PD bags, I found a study that compared alcohol and chlorhexidine over different timeframes. In looking at the risk of infection with different organisms. In their conclusion they said: “Our results suggest that the MP should be scrubbed with 2% chlorhexidine for at least 5 s; if alcohol 70% is used the length of friction should not be inferior to 10 s.” MP = Medication port and “s” = seconds.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Disinfection of the peritoneal dialysis bag medication port: Comparison of disinfectant agent and disinfection time.

A Conti, RM Katzap, CE Poli-de-Figueiredo, V Pagnussatti and AE Figueiredo, Nephrology (Carlton, Vic.), Sep 2018

The aim of the present study was to compare different disinfection techniques for the peritoneal dialysis bag medication port (MP).An experimental study was conducted testing different cleaning agents (70% alcohol vs 2% chlorhexidine) and time periods (5, 10 and 60 s) for disinfection of the MP. Five microorganisms (S. aureus, E. coli, A. baumannii and C. parapsilosis, CNS) were prepared for use as contaminants of the MP. MP were incubated in Tryptic soy broth at 36°C for 24 h, after which, they were seeded on a Biomérieux blood agar plate and incubated for 24 h at 36°C.Three hundred peritoneal dialysis bags were analyzed regarding the time expose to the disinfectant showed a statistically significant difference in the number of culture positive (7/100) P = 0.001; Gram positive (6/100) P = 0.006 for 5 s, one positive culture and turbid bag with 10 s, while friction for 60 s showed all negative results. The comparison between disinfectant, alcohol or chlorhexidine, 150 bag in each group, showed that the ones disinfected with alcohol had five turbid bags, eight positive cultures and seven germs identified, while all bags disinfected with chlorhexidine were negative for all parameters, with a difference statistically significant (P = 0.004).Our results suggest that the MP should be scrubbed with 2% chlorhexidine for at least 5 s; if alcohol 70% is used the length of friction should not be inferior to 10 s.

So far as disinfecting the septum of the heparin vial, the CDC states after you do hand hygiene to disinfect the septum with alcohol before piercing it.
https://www.cdc.gov/injectionsafety/providers/provider_faqs_med-prep.html

Needles are sterile when you get them as long as they are covered by the original plastic cap. You do not need to disinfect them and by doing so, you would run the risk of puncturing your skin and rendering them non-sterile.

lupacexi · September 28, 2020, 8:23am

Thanks you for sharing