HSANZ has endorsed these Guidelines and provide them for your information. Nicole Gavin, HSANZ Associate Nurse Member was one of the authors.

CNSA would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to our Vascular Access Device & Infusion Therapy Specialist Practice Network (VAD&IT SPN), eviQ and all who have worked tirelessly to develop the revised CNSA Vascular Access Devices: Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guidelines. In a CNSA first, these guidelines are hosted directly on the CNSA website and detail the latest evidence and recommendations for patients with cancer with peripheral intravenous cannulas and central venous access devices.

The guidelines provide standardised, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and recommendations for the safe, effective, and efficient management of vascular access devices for the patient with cancer. This knowledge base, with clinical expertise, the preferences of the individual patient, product knowledge and application, and local context of the individual healthcare environment can be integrated into comprehensive approach to vascular access management for the individual cancer patient.

They have been received enthusiastically within Australia, with endorsement coming from the Australia Vascular Access Society (AVAS), the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR), the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Intravenous Nursing New Zealand (IVNNZ) and Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand (HSANZ). 

These guidelines cover Patency, Occlusion Prevention and Management and include:

• Education & Competency
• Patency Assessment
• Flushing & Locking Practices
• Needleless Connector & Patency
• Catheter Tip & PIVC Position
• Blood Specimens & Interventional Radiology
• Confounding Factors & Patency
• Occlusion Assessment & Management

You can now access these online at www.cnsa.org.au/VADguidelines. or

Vascular Access Devices: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines