Peripheral Catheters
45Reliable vascular access is a major factor allowing for the success of home infusion therapy. Selecting the most appropriate vascular access device (VAD) as well as the site of placement…
Antimicrobial Therapy
123Antimicrobial drug administration is the most common home infusion therapy and is used to treat infections in both adult and pediatric patient populations. Given a safe home setting, an appropriate…
Home Parenteral Nutrition
137Parenteral nutrition is the intravenous (IV) administration of nutrients via the venous system. In the past, IV nutrition was referred to as “hyperalimentation” or “total parenteral nutrition” but the current…
Other Home Infusion Therapies
213The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of some less common, but often home-administered infusion therapies that do not fall under the broad headings of the previous…
Patient Education: An Essential Component of Safe Home Infusion Therapy
15Effective teaching is unquestionably essential to the provision of safe home infusion therapy. Patient education is one of the four aspects of care that impact patient outcomes as described in…
Overview and Introduction to Home Infusion Therapy
3As an important aspect of U.S. health care reform, health care provided outside of the hospital setting continues to grow, and this growth is also apparent across the globe. Contributing…
Infection Prevention Concepts
27Bloodstream infections (BSIs) associated with vascular access devices (VADs) are preventable. For acute care hospitals, central line–associated BSI (CLABSI) rates are publicly reported on the Medicare.gov website (“hospital compare”) and…
Fluid Administration: Managing Dehydration
115Among the older adult population, a significant risk is that of dehydration affecting 20% to 30% of older adults (Miller, 2015). The consequences and complications of dehydration are prevented when…
Other Infusion Access Methods
83Although intravenous (IV) infusion of medications and fluids is the most common type of home infusion therapy, the home infusion nurse also encounters patients who require subcutaneous (SC) and intraspinal…
Central Vascular Access Devices
63As discussed in the Chapter 4, reliable vascular access is a critical factor in successful home infusion therapy. Central vascular access devices (CVADs), commonly called “central lines,” are often placed…
