Glad it's Not My Clinic!

[JScott1753]

  Just watched a couple of videos someone took of their getting hooked up for their dialysis session. All I can say is I am _really_ glad I don't go there.
  Entire first video(1 to 1-1/2 minutes was cleaning fistula sites--over, and over, and over again... And that person's sites are down by the wrist and up by the elbow. Never seen them that far apart.
  Then, needles are inserted. When they opened the plastic clamps and let the blood flow toward the needles, they stopped the flow halfway down the tube. Wouldn't that introduce a lot of air into the system? To be fair, the video ended before they hooked up the lines to the dialyzer.
  But the things that I noticed the most were that at the end of the second video, you see the tech, and she doesn't appear to be wearing a mask, or face shield, or anything like that. And, the worst thing is *No Gloves*.
  I just hope I don't end up going there!
  Jon

[totosidney]

There are a lot of different methods used at different centers. And it has changes a lot over the years. I doubt if the air you saw in the line ended up in the patient. It was most likely pulled with a saline flush syringe. The lack of gloves to protect the tech would surprise me today, but not a few years back. The mask and face shield seems to vary with location, particularly coming off. Having used many centers around the country, I am always surprised by a different procedure.