Abstract
There is little published information describing standards of practice in the placement, use, and maintenance of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) devices in children. A Web-based survey tool was designed to query these issues, and 72 intravenous therapy nurses from 72 hospitals provided complete responses to the survey. The respondents were predominantly (81%) from healthcare organizations inserting 40 or fewer PICC devices per month. These hospitals were equally divided in using 0.9% sodium chloride (USP) (saline) or heparinized saline flush to maintain patency, whereas 76% used catheters for blood sampling. Flushing and blood sampling practices were not related to catheter occlusion rates. From their survey, the authors conclude that the standards of practice for 3-Fr PICC devices, the most commonly used for children, are quite variable and in need of standardization for this specific population.
MeSH terms
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Adolescent
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Age Factors
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Anticoagulants / administration & dosage
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Attitude of Health Personnel
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Blood Specimen Collection / methods
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Blood Specimen Collection / nursing
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Catheterization, Peripheral* / methods
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Catheterization, Peripheral* / nursing
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Catheterization, Peripheral* / statistics & numerical data
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Catheters, Indwelling*
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Child
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Child, Preschool
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Equipment Failure
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Evidence-Based Medicine
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Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
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Heparin / administration & dosage
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Humans
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Infant
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Nursing Evaluation Research
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Nursing Methodology Research
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Nursing Staff, Hospital* / education
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Nursing Staff, Hospital* / organization & administration
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Nursing Staff, Hospital* / psychology
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Pediatric Nursing / education
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Pediatric Nursing / methods*
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Practice Guidelines as Topic
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Sodium Chloride / administration & dosage
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Surveys and Questionnaires
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Therapeutic Irrigation / methods
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Therapeutic Irrigation / nursing
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Time Factors
Substances
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Anticoagulants
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Sodium Chloride
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Heparin