TOTALLY IMPLANTABLE CENTRAL VENOUS ACCESS: EMERGENCY NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

The totally implantable central venous access has been used since 1983, becoming essential in the treatment of cancer patients. It allows the infusion of chemotherapy drugs, blood derivatives and parenteral nutrition, in addition to intravenous therapies and blood sample for laboratory tests. Next, this thesis had aimed to evaluate the nurses’ knowledge that work in the Emergency Room, in a University Hospital, based in São Paulo state countryside, about the management and care of a totally implantable central venous access, of the variety port-a-cath. It was a descriptor, exploratory, field research, with a quantitative approach, made with 10 nurses who had been working in the Emergency Room. As the results, it aimed that there were gaps related to the knowledge about management and care of this kind of device, in addiction to disagreements between professionals about the existence of institutional protocols that address the port-a-cath puncture technique. It concludes, therefore, that the nurses, that work in the Emergency Room, need training and updating programs about the management and care with the totally implantable central venous access. In addition, we aim the necessity to review how the process of construction and implementation protocols are being made, the ones that aims, to guide the execution of the actions safely.