Note: After this video was created, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance merged with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is now called Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.
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A central venous catheter is a small flexible tube inserted into a large vein in your chest. It is
used to give fluid, nutrients, medicine, and blood products. It may also be used to get blood
samples. A central venous catheter is also called a central line, tunneled catheter, central
venous line, or Hickman line.
Daily care for a central line involves cleaning the central line, flushing the lumens (lines), protecting the central line from water, and changing the dressing.