This article aims to help nurses to undertake the removal of pulmonary artery (PA) catheters in a safe manner.
PA catheter removal is associated with several risks and complications, and nurses should be cognisant of these and take appropriate action to ensure patient safety and optimum outcomes.
When PA catheters are no longer required, the temporary central venous catheter and its wide-bore introducer must be removed.
Clinical skills articles can help update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of:
Your knowledge of cardiac anatomy and physiology. Label a diagram of the heart, including pressure values for all four chambers.
A comparison of the tricuspid and pulmonary valves. Explain why entanglement occurs in the tricuspid valve.
Subscribers can upload their reflective accounts at:
Nursing Standard. 30, 26, 36-39. doi: 10.7748/ns.30.26.36.s46
Correspondence Peer reviewAll articles are subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software.
Received: 25 November 2014
Accepted: 18 January 2015
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