How To Flush Your Biliary or Abscess Drainage Catheter

In this video, we’ll show how to flush your biliary or abscess drainage catheter. You need to flush your catheter twice a day.

Before you start, make sure you have one 10 milliliter prefilled normal saline syringe and 1 alcohol wipe ready. You may want to open the alcohol wipe ahead of time.

The best way to prevent infection is to keep your hands clean. If you’re washing your hands with soap and water, wet your hands and apply soap. Rub them together for 20 seconds, then rinse. Dry your hands with a paper towel and use that same towel to turn off the faucet.

If you’re using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, cover all parts of your hands with it, then rub them together until they’re dry. Cleaning your hands properly, also called hand hygiene, is an important part of caring for your drainage catheter.

Look at your catheter and dressing every time you flush your catheter. Check to see if the catheter is bent or if it’s being pulled, and make sure your CathGrip is holding the catheter.

Look at the disc nipple and make sure the black mark is near the disc. If it moved, call your doctor’s office for instructions before you flush.

Look carefully at your dressing. If it’s dirty, wet, loose, or pulling away from your skin, it needs to be changed. You can do this after you flush your catheter.

Flush your catheter twice a day, at the same time each day. Your doctor prescribed a certain amount of normal saline you should use to flush your catheter: 10, 5, or 3 milliliters.

Take the normal saline syringe out of the wrapper and take the cap off by twisting it and pulling it off.

With the cap off, push the air out of the syringe by holding the syringe open-side up and pushing the plunger slowly until the normal saline is at the top.

If your doctor told you to flush with less than 10 milliliters, squirt the extra saline out.

First, close your catheter system by turning the stopcock so the tap points toward the drainage bag.

Clean the needleless connector on the stopcock with the alcohol wipe for 15 seconds, then let it dry for 15 seconds.

Connect the syringe to the needleless connector. Hold the connector while you push and turn the syringe clockwise to lock it in position.

To flush your catheter, push all the normal saline into your catheter in one smooth, quick motion. Flushing your catheter quickly will help clear out anything that can clog it.

Never pull the plunger of the syringe backward. Always push forward.

Stop pushing the plunger and call your doctor’s office if you have pain, trouble pushing in the saline, or if you see any liquid leaking around your catheter site when you’re flushing it. Do not try to put in any more saline.

When the syringe is empty, turn it counterclockwise while you hold the needleless connector. Take off the syringe and throw it away in your regular trash.

Re-open your catheter system by turning the stopcock back so the tap points toward the needleless connector. You’ll probably see liquid drain into the bag.

If you have any questions, contact your healthcare provider.

You can also visit msk.org/pe to search for educational resources, videos, and online programs.