10.2 Caring for Clients with Tubes and Devices
There may be situations where the HCA will provide care for clients who may have medical tubes, lines, or drains. The care should be the same regardless of any medical tube or drain the client has. Tubes, drains, and lines have different purposes depending on where they are inserted. For example, parenteral lines bypass the stomach to administer medications or nutrition through a a vein. Tubes that go directly into the gastrointestinal system and deliver nutrition for those clients who cannot eat orally are called feeding tubes, such as nasogastric tubes. (For more information on special diets and feeding tubes, see Chapter 6.4: Special Diets.) [pb_glossary id="1080"]Drainage tubes are meant to drain fluids from the body, such a urinary catheter. (For more information on drainage tubes, see Unit 7: Assisting with Elimination Needs). Regardless of the type of tube, drain, or line a client may have, the HCA will need to know how to provide personal care with attention to the complications these devices may have on the client's health and well-being and how to safely provide care without disruption to the placement of the tubes and drains. The following five principles apply to the care of lines, tubes, or drains. Knowledge of these principles should help the HCA to provide appropriate care to clients who have these kinds of tubes.
Five Principles for Caring for Clients with Lines, Tubes, and Drains
- Closed cavities of the body are sterile cavities. Insertion of any tube must be performed a licensed professional with adherence to the principles of asepsis.
- A portal of entry that comes into contact with a non-sterile surface immediately becomes nonsterile. When disconnecting drainage tubes, such as a urinary catheter or a G-tube, the ends must be kept clean.
- Gravity promotes the flow of drainage from a cavity. Keep drainage tubes and collection bags at a lower level than the cavity being drained.
- Drainage will flow out of the tubing if the lumen is not occluded. Avoid kinks and coils in the tubing and watch that the person does not lie on the tubing. Do not clamp tubes without a prescriber’s order.
- Properly cleanse the site before accessing any tubing to reduce possible introduction of microorganisms into a cavity. An alcohol swab may be used to clean the entry point prior to accessing the tubing.
Caring for clients patients with multiple tubes and attachments can be challenging. Follow the guidelines in Table 10.2.1 to help you care for clients with tubes and drains.
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When clients have tubes and attachments to aid in their recovery, HCAs are required to understand how to provide care in a safe, person-centred manner to prevent harm to the client. This section reviewed some of the types of tubes and lines that HCAs may be exposed to in all settings.
Learning Activity - hover your cursor over to find the answer
- Data source: BCIT, 2015a; Perry et al., 2018 ↵
Intravenous (IV) lines used to deliver medications or nutrition directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system.
A flexible plastic tube used to supply nutrients and fluids to the body. Feeding tubes can be nasogastric (NG), nasojejunal (NJ), percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ).
A flexible plastic tube inserted through the nostrils, down the nasopharynx, and into the stomach or the upper portion of the small intestine.