Nurse's guide to understanding and treating thrombotic occlusion of central venous access devices.

Over 5 million central venous access devices (CVADs) are placed in the United States annually. Catheter occlusion is the most common non-infectious complication in long-term use of CVADs. Nursing management of the thrombotic occlusion of central venous access devices is described. The normal process of hemostasis and fibrinolysis and common types of catheter thrombosis are reviewed, along with the step-by-step procedure for restoring catheter patency using thrombolytic agents.