ABSTRACT
Background and Objective: Healthcare staffs want to use an accurate method for taking blood sample. To prevent frequent venipunctures in patients who require a routine blood sampling for controlling PT and PTT, 2 methods of Saline lock catheter flushing and Heparin lock catheter flushing were compared to each other
Methods: This study was performed on 60 patients. They were divided into 2 equal groups. Vein catheter for 1 group was flushed by heparinized Saline and for the other group was flushed by saline. 2 blood samples were obtained, one from vein by needle and the other from catheter after 2 ml blood aspiration. PT and PTT tests were performed by coagulometer. Data were analyzed and compared by T-test and paired T-test
Findings: It was not seen a significant difference for PT in 2 methods of Saline lock and Heparin lock with direct method. There was a significant difference for PTT between Heparin lock and direct method [P=0.000] and also between Heparin lock and Saline lock [P=0.006]
Conclusion: According to the results, vein Saline lock catheter in comparison to heparinized catheter is a reliable and proper method for coagulation studies. With regard to advantages of normal saline in comparison to heparin, it is suggested that saline to be used for flushing peripheral cannulas