Who needs a therapeutic phlebotomy?
Many oncology practices treat patients with benign and malignant hematologic diagnoses. As a result, oncology nurses often are required to care for these patients. One common procedure nurses perform is therapeutic phlebotomy, where about 500 ml of blood is removed through a large-bore needle over 15-30 minutes. The procedure is ordered as a treatment for hereditary hemochromatosis, polycythemia vera, and secondary polycythemia. Before initiating the procedure, nurses must be aware of a patient's diagnosis, baseline hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, and therapeutic end points. Reviewing these diagnoses will help nurses understand why phlebotomy is an important part of treatment.
University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque, USA. eantle@salud.unm.edu
Emily Amy
EA
Antle
D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D018962:Phlebotomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011087:Polycythemia Vera / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*