EBB 104 - The Evidence on Saline Locks

Evidence Based Birth®

Rebecca Dekker

Pregnancy, Health & Fitness, Childbirth, Parenting, Birth, Medicine, Kids & Family, Doula, Obstetrician, Midwife

4.6 • 978 Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2019

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, I explore the latest evidence on the use of saline locks!

A saline lock - sometimes called a “hep-lock” in reference to how it used to be used - is an intravenous (IV) catheter that is threaded into a peripheral vein, flushed with saline, and then capped off for later use. Nurses use saline locks to have easy access to the vein for potential injections. They can be useful in administering drugs as needed, and in the event of emergency surgery.

What is the latest research on the use of saline locks in labor and delivery? What is the evidence for the saline lock in someone who wants an un-medicated birth or wants to avoid medical interventions as much as possible? Should a saline lock be in place “just in case” it may be needed? I’ll cover the evidence on this topic, along with the risks and benefits.

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

RESOURCES:

Bailey, J. M., C. Bell, R. Zielenski (2019). “Timing and outcomes of an indication-only use of intravenous cannulation during spontaneous labor.” J Midwifery Womens Health 00:1-7.

Bateman, B. T., M. F. Berman, et al. (2010). “The epidemiology of postpartum hemorrhage in a large, nationwide sample of deliveries.” Anesthesia and analgesia 110(5): 1368-1373.

Maki, D. G., D. M. Kluger, et al. (2006). “The risk of bloodstream infection in adults with different intravascular devices: a systematic review of 200 published prospective studies.” Mayo Clin Proc 81(9): 1159-1171.

Newton, N., M. Newton, et al. (1988). “Psychologic, physical, nutritional, and technologic aspects of intravenous infusion during labor.” Birth 15(2): 67-72.

Rickard, C. M., D. McCann, et al. (2010). “Routine resite of peripheral intravenous devices every 3 days did not reduce complications compared with clinically indicated resite: a randomised controlled trial.” BMC Med 8: 53.

Want evidence on more topics? Access all of the Evidence Based Birth Signature Articles at our blog.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone on today's podcast we're going to talk about the evidence on saline locks during labor
0:10.0	Welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast my name is Rebecca Decker and I'm a nurse with my PhD and the founder of Evidence Space Birth.
0:18.0	Join me each week as we work together to get evidence-based information into the hands of families and professionals around the world.
0:26.3	As a reminder, this information is not medical advice.
0:29.7	See EBBirth.com. Disclaimer for more details.
0:34.0	Hi everyone. Today I wanted to bring some research evidence to you
0:40.6	and talk a little bit about the evidence for saline locks.
0:45.0	This is a topic that I first tackled seven years ago at the evidence-based birth
0:50.0	blog and I had to actually look it up. I could not believe it's been seven years since I wrote a blog article about the evidence on saline locks.
0:58.0	But to be honest, the reason why I didn't update the article in seven years is because there was no research to write about.
1:05.0	But today I'm excited to let you know that there is some new research, there's one new study
1:09.1	on this topic, and I want to give you an overview of the evidence on saline locks.
1:14.0	A saline lock is sometimes called a hepplock for historic reasons,
1:18.0	which I'll explain in a minute.
1:20.0	But a saline lock is an intravenous or IV catheter that is threaded into peripheral vein,
1:27.0	flushed with saline, and then capped off for later use.
1:31.0	Before I go any further, I want to clarify a misconception that a lot of people have who are
1:35.4	not workers in the health care field. A lot of times people think that there is a needle
1:40.1	permanently in your vein, but in fact the needle is used to place a tiny little
1:46.0	catheter which you might describe as a tiny little straw or plastic tube into
1:51.1	your vein and then the needle is retracted and thrown away. So there is no needle
1:55.8	in your arm. It's just tiny little catheter or straw that is threaded into your peripheral
	...

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