A few years ago we had some nurses that came from another facility. They showed us a new way of rinsing back a patient with a closed system. At the end of the treatment the machine is stopped and if the patient has an access other then a catheter you squeeze the saline bag to rinse back the arterial side of the machine and then with the arterial side clamped saline is run in through the machine so there is no blood in the system when you disconnect the patient.
I attended a convention shortly after that. The representatives from COBE told me they did not recommend this technique because there is no way to tell how much pressure a person is using, the pressure can give damage to the arterial side of the fistula or graft, They also said that there is no air detector for the blood being returned through the arterial needle so air and/ or clots can be instilled into the patient. I also talked to a needle company that said that the needle connected to the hub was not tested with that type of pressure and could come dislodged from the hub.
Just recently I am working for a new company and they have come up with the new procedure. It is the one described as above. Does anyone have research to support the safety or the dangers of the rinse back procedure described above?