Discontinuing a Chemotherapy Infusion

Video Runtime: 4 Minutes

Chemotherapy infusions are usually set up at the oncology center. Some patients undergoing chemotherapy will receive these infusions at home over several days, with orders for the home care agency nurse to discontinue the infusion. Notably, some patients may be taught to do this procedure independently by the oncology center nurses. Most patients will have an implanted vascular port in place for the infusions. There are a number of chemotherapy infusions that are home administered, 5-fluorouracil being an example of a very common home infusion chemotherapy drug. Chemotherapy drugs are hazardous drugs, based on characteristics including carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, reproductive toxicity, organ toxicity at low doses, and genotoxicity. While there is scarce literature on hazardous drug education for home care nurses, nurses who administer any level of chemotherapy should receive specific education. The Oncology Nursing Society provides excellent online education and recommendations, such as a best practice and a clinical competency for all home care nurses who perform any chemotherapy procedures. While nurses may consider this procedure a task, often referring to it as a “chemotherapy takedown,” it involves much more than performing procedures.

In this training, we’ll review the equipment and procedures for discontinuing a chemotherapy infusion. This course includes

- Video demonstrations of procedures
- Downloadable procedure guide PDFs
- Tips and best practices for performing these procedures in the home

This course was reviewed by Danielle Pierotti, RN, PhD, CENP, to ensure the content meets current professional guidelines and best evidence-based practices.