Lock solutions in oncology
Ingredients, efficacy, recommendations
Chemotherapy ranks among the most effective forms of cancer treatment: Patients receive intravenous medication that is administered through a permanent vascular access device (VAD), i.e. catheter or port. Although patients get used to carrying a VAD rather quickly, it must be treated with utmost caution. To keep catheters safe throughout chemotherapy, we have developed lock solutions with both antimicrobial and antibiofilm efficacy.
TauroLock™ for cancer patients
When using central-venous catheters (CVC), medical staff have to avoid two major risks: blood clotting and bacterial infections. For immuno-suppressed patients undergoing chemotherapy, catheter-related infections can often be life-threatening. Contact with blood, particularly at the tip of the catheter, can also cause blood clots and impair the flow rate.
Our lock solutions contain several active ingredients with different effects:
Taurolidine is antiseptic and kills more than 500 types of germs.
Citrate is anticoagulant and sustains an adequate flow rate within the catheter.
Additionally, our product range includes lock solutions with heparin or urokinase to meet the individual needs of cancer patients.
All ingredients named above have been approved and recommended in current guidelines (GaVeCeLT, AIEOP, GPOH, SF2H, and other national guidelines).
Please note that all TauroLock™ products are to be administered by trained staff with medical expertise and experience. On this premise, we advise the following procedure:
1. Before treatment sessions:
- Remove TauroLock™/ TauroLock™-Hep100/ TauroLock™-U25.000 and residual blood from the VAD.
- Flush all lumens of the access device with 10 ml of saline and a syringe according to the push-pause technique.
- Start intravenous medication.
2. After treatment:
- Flush both lumens with 10 ml of saline according to the push-pause technique.
- Gently tap the ampoule’s neck to remove the lock solution.
- Tilt the ampoule so that you can see a white dot on top and quickly break off the neck.
- When using TauroLock™-U25.000:
Reconstitute the urokinase that is delivered in a separate vial with TauroLock™ withdrawn from the ampoule. TauroLock™-U25.000 must be used immediately after reconstitution. - Draw the TauroLock™ solution from the ampoule into a sterile syringe.
3. In-between treatment sessions:
- To ensure the solution’s prophylactic efficacy, slowly instil a volume sufficient to fill the entire lumens of the device.
- You can check the proper filling volume of each lumen as indicated on the device or based on the manufacturer’s instructions.