Care and use of vascular catheters

  • Mice with catheters should be individually housed.
  • Catheter should be flushed with sterile saline and refilled with sterile lock solution within 24 hours of arrival and then every 3-4 days.
  • Always clamp the catheter before removing the plug or syringes.

Materials required:

  • 1 ml syringe
  • Blunted 25-gauge needles
  • Catheter clamp; we recommend a non-serrated micro-serrefine clamp
  • Lumen lock solution: 1 ml sodium heparin (1000 IU/ml) added to 1ml glycerol for a final concentration of 500 IU heparin/ml lock solution.
  • Saline

Procedure for sampling and infusion

  1. Restrain the mouse, preferably with a commercially available restrainer. Wound clips are used to secure the catheter in place, they may need to be removed for catheter access and replaced after the procedure is performed.
     
  2. Clamp the catheter, below the plug and gently remove the plug.
     
  3. Attach an empty syringe with a blunted 25-gauge needle to the catheter. Remove the clamp and slowly aspirate the lock solution until blood fills the catheter.* For catheter maintenance proceed to step 5.
     
  4. Withdraw blood sample or infuse compound with a new syringe.
     
  5. Flush the catheter with 0.05 ml of sterile saline.
     
  6. Refill the catheter with 0.01 ml of lumen lock solution. Use caution when refilling the catheter with lock solution to avoid heparin being introduced into the bloodstream.
     
  7. Re-clamp the catheter and re-insert the plug.  Remove the clamp.

*If the solution cannot be removed reposition the mouse and retry. If the solution still cannot be withdrawn, clamp catheter, replace empty syringe with saline filled syringe, unclamp catheter, and inject a small amount of saline to clear the line.

For additional help with catheter maintenance please contact Surgical Services: Andree Lapierre, 207-288-1468 or andree.lapierre@jax.org