Pic Lines.... Dsg. Changes

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

How often are these supposed to be done? Q48 hrs., Q72 hrs., once a week ? Is there a standard or does it depend on the MD order ?

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

When I was working med/surg we changed then q 72 hours. But I have no idea what the policy was, to be honest.

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Specializes in Almost everywhere.

We do 24 hours after initial insertion, then every 72 hours. This is in our Med/Surg environment. :wink2: That is floor policy.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
When I was working med/surg we changed then q 72 hours. But I have no idea what the policy was, to be honest.

I was thinking Q72 myself.. thought that made sense.. any others out there like to throw in either your :twocents: or your expertise? :)

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Specializes in ICU, Education.

In the last 2 facilities I have worked, our PICC dressing changes were 24 hours after insertion, then Q week (if biopatch used)&prn. IF no biopatch used they are Q 3 days and PRN .

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Home care: weekly with PRN change if losse/sweating. RN did change, not pts. especially for PICC's inserted by RN team.

CHECK YOUR AGENCIES POLICY. That's who's standards you will be held to. If no IV policy manual, then they should have reference manual they use as guidelines....

Crips, starting to sound like mgmt geek all the time. Must be all the legal aspect courses I've taken to protect my license rearing it's head these days.

Want to keep all your licenses safe!

P.S.: Don't forget cap change at same time.

Also supply count for reorder. Reinforce infection control with patient, sharps use, IV solution storage. What suprises i learned from those reviews with patient/caregiver.

Don't want to see you have 1AM phone call cause pt decided to use scissors to cut off loose dressing stuck to line and snipped hole in tubing "blood coming out" and pt 1 hour road trip away.

Those spring clip clothes pins work great as temporary hemostat too. :D

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
Home care: weekly with PRN change if losse/sweating. RN did change, not pts. especially for PICC's inserted by RN team.

CHECK YOUR AGENCIES POLICY. That;s who's standards you will be held to. If no IV policy manual, then they should have reference manual they use as guidelines....

Crips, starting to sound like mgmt geek all the time. Must be all the leagal aspect courses I've taken to protect my license rearing it's head these days.

Want to keep all your licenses safe!

Thanx, Karen, and all above !

Our MD order for this care reads Q Week, (home health) but it still seemed a bit long to me. I thought Q 72 more appropriate. I've not seen this patient yet, so I don't know what kind of dressing or patch is on the site... one of my colleagues is going to visit the patient as I type, and she called me to find out more on this. I'll do just that, Karen.. we do have a HUGE policy/procedures book at the office. Will look that up first thing Monday morning.

Thanx again ! :)

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Heme/Onc.

stat lock and biopatch change.

Of course, if they get wet or start to come off, then we change them as needed.

Blee

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Plase take the time to READ the P&P manual. All our nurses receive own copy. Think their doing to CD rom next year and place on our computer desktops for field staff to use who are on laptops.

Longer journey than expected to laptop environment for homcare. Three years out, I can now easily access info at my fingertips to give report to insurance companies for visit authoriztion... or haven enough info at touch of few keys for "guestimate" of # visits and patient needs. Transitioning our P+P to organized computer files is an adventure for our CNS...now a computer expert in the making.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
Plase take the time to READ the P&P manual. All our nurses receive own copy. Think their doing to CD rom next year and place on our computer desktops for field staff to use who are on laptops.

Geez, Karen, our P&P manual is bigger than the CPNE "carjack"... it weighs a TON and THEN some. It's HUGE. No way would we be toting that monster around in the field with us.

But I DO like the idea of putting it on CD Rom for laptops ! BIG thumbs up !

We're still "discussing" the laptops.. the nurse all want them, mgt. is "working on it".. so hopefully we'll get them sooner than later.

Wonder if once the P&P is on CD ROM that I could transfer that to my PDA? I would think so, just like any other info, right? Now THAT I could live with until we get the laptops! :)

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Specializes in CNA for 5 years, LPN for 5 years.

My last place of employment we changed 24 hr after insertion, then q week, unless a 4x4 or some type of guaze was under the dressing, then we changed q 24 hr. This was LTC.

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