Characteristics of flushing with normal saline to prevent central venous catheter obstruction: scoping review protocol

Abstract

Introduction: Central venous catheter obstruction is a complication with impact on patient safety, because it stops or slows the administration of intravenous treatment and requires the removal of the obstructed catheter and insertion of another, thus increasing the risks associated with the insertion of a central venous catheter, with a consequent increase in costs. In order to prevent obstruction, performing the flushing technique with normal saline is recommended, however there are important issues about the nature of the evidence on characteristics of flushing that need to be examined to support nursing practice. Objective: To map the characteristics of flushing (technique, volume, syringe capacity and frequency) with normal saline to maintain the permeability of the central venous catheter and prevent obstruction. Materials and Methods: Scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute's methodology. The research will include publications in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Italian in electronic databases (JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, Cochrane, Proquest, Medline, SciELO, Lilacs and CINAHL). The research of unpublished studies will include the scientific repository of Open Access in Portugal and the CAPES. Article relevance analysis, and data extraction and synthesis will be performed by two independent reviewers. Conclusions: It is expected that the scoping review will summarize the knowledge of flushing characteristics and support the nursing practices for prevention of obstruction of the central venous catheter, given the potential impact of this complication in patient safety.