title: Is it an expected practice for critical care nurses to irrigate an external ventriculostomy drainage (EVD) system with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to break up blood clots in the tubing to facilitate drainage, thereby preventing increased intracranial pressure?
authors.affiliation: Premier Jets/Lifeguard Air Ambulance in Hillsboro, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Criddle
mesh_terms: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D019586:Intracranial Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014696:Ventriculostomy / Q000451:nursing*
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator