title: Changing blood transfusion policy and practice.
abstract: It is often an accepted practice that a 20-gauge-or-larger catheter is used for the safe transfusion of blood in adult patients, but it is unclear what evidence supports this practice. This article tells the story of how a small team of oncology nurses designed and implemented an evidence-based practice project to challenge that convention. A literature search and a consultation with the standards of the American Association of Blood Banks and the Infusion Nurses Society determined that a smaller-than-20-gauge catheter can be used safely to transfuse blood in adults, a discovery that led to a change in policy and practice at the authors' institution.
authors.affiliation: Catherine Stupnyckyj and Sheryl Smolarek are clinical nurse leaders at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, where Colleen Reeves is a clinical nurse, Judith McKeith is a clinical nurse manager, and Morris Magnan is a clinical nurse specialist. Contact author: Morris Magnan, magnanm@karmanos.org. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stupnyckyj
authors.forename: Sheryl
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smolarek
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McKeith
authors.forename: Morris
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Magnan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000451:nursing* / Q000592:standards*; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles / Q000592:standards*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D011050:Policy Making; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014481:United States