1 St. Mary's Long Beach Hospital, Long Beach, California 90813
During the course of removing a number of umbilical arterial catheters, I have come upon this helpful trick to avoid bleeding.
First, turn off the constant infusion pump. Next, turn the stopcock and slowly draw back with a small syringe until you can just see the intravenous (IV) fluid-blood interface; shut off the stopcock so that no flow can occur from the infant. Note: The IV fluid-blood interface is pulsatile.
With the infant restrained, withdraw the catheter until there are only 3 cm remaining within the infant and stop.