N95 mask use to place PICCs

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 14, 2020

What would the rationale be to use N95 masks when placing a PICC? They are intended for use in airborne concerns. Any splashback from a PICC insertion would be in droplet form.

bethchpn · Mar 14, 2020

Well I was called in to the ED and the patient was sick with a high fever of 103. I have read some things about CV and they are now feeling it can be airborne. A lot is unknown. I am 70 yrs old and my husband is high risk. Am I being paranoid? My daughter just wants me to retire! I am not ready!

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 14, 2020

OK, so the additional information changes things. It's not the PICC that requires extra precautions. However, the facility should have screening protocols in place to determine what kind of PPE would be required for the patient in question. There are many things that can cause a fever; Covid-19 is only one of them. What were the staff in the ED caring for the patient doing as far as PPE?

erwindt, MSN, RN · May 13, 2020

Hey ALL. My name is Erwin and I am a PICC nurse here in NYC. At my full-time job, there is only two PICC nurses and we insert a total of 400 PICCs a year and 200 Midlines a year. During the pandemic, I placed about 25 PICCs in 3 days. I am a single inserter. Very lucky if there's two of us, but it is rare. A lot of the COVID patients had blood clotting issues, so medical/surgical teams would request PICCs. The MDs would place femoral, but we try to avoid them because they can only stay in-place for 24-hrs. Other than that, my colleague and I wore a lot of protective gears, especially N95 when we did these cases. So far, we are both doing well. At my other job, one of my colleague got the virus, but she is alright now.

scribblz, BSN, CNA, LPN · Jun 15, 2020

On 5/13/2020 at 4:08 PM, erwindt said:
Hey ALL. My name is Erwin and I am a PICC nurse here in NYC. At my full-time job, there is only two PICC nurses and we insert a total of 400 PICCs a year and 200 Midlines a year. During the pandemic, I placed about 25 PICCs in 3 days. I am a single inserter. Very lucky if there's two of us, but it is rare. A lot of the COVID patients had blood clotting issues, so medical/surgical teams would request PICCs. The MDs would place femoral, but we try to avoid them because they can only stay in-place for 24-hrs. Other than that, my colleague and I wore a lot of protective gears, especially N95 when we did these cases. So far, we are both doing well. At my other job, one of my colleague got the virus, but she is alright now.

WOW!...25 PICCs in 3 days...holy crap. You are a rockstar. I can't imagine how rough the past few months have been for you. Fingers crossed that you stay safe!

erwindt, MSN, RN · Jul 11, 2020

Hi Scribblz,

Yes, it was a lot. I wasn't trying to make a world record. My instinct was just to help the docs and nurses to save as many COVID patient as we can. It was the worst experience. The worst part was placing these lines on your own co-workers and seeing them die before your eyes. Very very sad. May all of them have eternal Rest-In-Peace. I was actually suffering from shoulder and piriformis syndrome. Just pop some Advil, placed some ICY-Hot patches and go back to the battle field.