Email Discussion Group: Year Round-Up

Currently Under Discussion:

R2 Pads

Does anyone routinely position the R2 pads under fluoroscopy so that they are placed exactly over the heart?

R. Sparrow, RN

No. We place the chest pad on the right subclavian area close to the sternum and the second on the patient's back close to the left lateral. This works very well for us. When we prepare for an ICD implant we do not have to change the pad placement.

R. Kidd, RN

Femoral Sheaths

Our EP nurses are going to start putting the femoral venous sheaths in for the electrophysiology cases. There does not seem to be any other center in the United Kingdom that is doing this; could anyone help with information/protocols/policies, etc.?

J. Mudd

Our lab regularly uses physician assistants (PAs) in both cath & EP. They put in sheaths, catheters, and generally do what fellows do. Nurses are used in some labs. In Warren "Sonny" Jackman's well-known lab at the U. of Oklahoma, the "ace" EP person is a nurse. His lab may have protocols etc.

J. Fisher

Post Procedure

Does your lab transport patients back to their room post RFA procedure monitored or unmonitored? Also, do all of your RFA patients post procedure go directly back to their room, or are they monitored for a short period of time in a CCL/EP holding area/recovery room? M. Arenas We transport all patients to the Cath Lab Care Unit unmonitored. They are then monitored during their stay and then either go to a monitored hospital room or are discharged home.

Renee Shaffer, RN

New Questions for Discussion in 2005: Radiation Protection Drapes

Do these drapes need to be sterile and body length? Because so many hospitals are cutting costs, would the drape be just as effective to place under the sterile drape from the neck to the groin?

S. Smoker, RT 

Propofol for Moderate Sedation

Our lab is looking for policies/procedures/guidelines on using IV Propofol (bolus and/or drip) for our longer EP procedures. Does anyone have any information that can help?

Randy Shaffer