PICC removal

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Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.

i work ltc and my job does not allow staff rns to remove picc even if we are iv certified. the md comes and removes them. the doctor came today and removed left upper arm picc from my patient. i gave him all the supplies (gauze, alcohol swabs, etc.) and asked if he needed the measuring tape because i know the catheter needs to be measured and compare with the original length. the doctor said no he does need it and he won't measure it. doctor removed picc and put dressing, and charted and left. then my supervisor came and i told him the picc was just removed by the md. he asked me if i had measure it. i told him no that i asked the md if he needed the measuring tape and he said no. my supervisor said it was my responsibility to measure the catheter and chart it. i told him why when it was the md who removed the picc and not me. plus he was the primary doctor. if i had removed the picc myself, then of course i would measure the catheter. i was not even in the same room with the doctor when he was removing it.

what do you guys think? this is the first time an md came to my shift (3-11) and removed a picc so i didn't know what to do.

thanks,

angel

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Specializes in Surgery, Tele, OB, Peds,ED-True Float RN.

RN's remove all CVAD's here and we do not measure them. They have a colored tip and we chart that the tip is intact.

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Specializes in Vascular Access.
i work ltc and my job does not allow staff rns to remove picc even if we are iv certified. the md comes and removes them. the doctor came today and removed left upper arm picc from my patient. i gave him all the supplies (gauze, alcohol swabs, etc.) and asked if he needed the measuring tape because i know the catheter needs to be measured and compare with the original length. the doctor said no he does need it and he won't measure it. doctor removed picc and put dressing, and charted and left. then my supervisor came and i told him the picc was just removed by the md. he asked me if i had measure it. i told him no that i asked the md if he needed the measuring tape and he said no. my supervisor said it was my responsibility to measure the catheter and chart it. i told him why when it was the md who removed the picc and not me. plus he was the primary doctor. if i had removed the picc myself, then of course i would measure the catheter. i was not even in the same room with the doctor when he was removing it.

what do you guys think? this is the first time an md came to my shift (3-11) and removed a picc so i didn't know what to do.

thanks,

angel

the only time it does not need to be measured, is if it is a groshong iv catheter. the groshong catheter will have a black rounded tip. if that is present on removal, the catheter is intact. however, if it is not present, then there is a problem. measuring an open, non-valved iv catheter is important to ensure that the catheter measures the same as what was placed. if one does not have the measurements for what was placed and removal is ordered, the best you can do is assess after its removed to determine the absence of "jagged edges to the naked eye", but i'd still measure what i removed. or, if the catheter was removed with difficulty, then measurement is also imperative.

you didn't mention that you provided gel, neosporin or betadine will work. the reason you want to use the gel is that it "plugs" the hole once the catheter is removed. this gel on a 4x4 goes directly on the hole which was left from the catheter's removal. then, a sterile transparent dressing (tsm) should be placed over the guaze once hemostasis resumes. alcohol, which you mentioned, may be used to aid in the tsm removal, but never should be used at the site as it can promote bleeding and it burns too.

if you did not remove the iv catheter, the ownership of follow through on this task belongs to the individual who did the procedure. should you go sifting through the trash to retieve this catheter. no, i wouldn't. but i would chart that xyz doctor removed it, and then monitor the patient for s/s of catheter emboli, &/or air emoboli.

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Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.
the only time it does not need to be measured, is if it is a groshong iv catheter. the groshong catheter will have a black rounded tip. if that is present on removal, the catheter is intact. however, if it is not present, then there is a problem. measuring an open, non-valved iv catheter is important to ensure that the catheter measures the same as what was placed. if one does not have the measurements for what was placed and removal is ordered, the best you can do is assess after its removed to determine the absence of "jagged edges to the naked eye", but i'd still measure what i removed. or, if the catheter was removed with difficulty, then measurement is also imperative.

you didn't mention that you provided gel, neosporin or betadine will work. the reason you want to use the gel is that it "plugs" the hole once the catheter is removed. this gel on a 4x4 goes directly on the hole which was left from the catheter's removal. then, a sterile transparent dressing (tsm) should be placed over the guaze once hemostasis resumes. alcohol, which you mentioned, may be used to aid in the tsm removal, but never should be used at the site as it can promote bleeding and it burns too.

if you did not remove the iv catheter, the ownership of follow through on this task belongs to the individual who did the procedure. should you go sifting through the trash to retieve this catheter. no, i wouldn't. but i would chart that xyz doctor removed it, and then monitor the patient for s/s of catheter emboli, &/or air emoboli.

the doctor removed the picc himself. actually, he asked me for the supplies. he said he needed suture removal kit (which he didn't use and gave back to me), 2x2 gauze,paper tape, and alcohol swabs. i then asked if he needed the measuring tape for the catheter and told me no. i did not know what kind of a catheter it was. but i was upset with my supervisor for lecturing me that it was my responsibility to measure the catheter and chart it. he made me feel bad like i'm incompetent or something and his tone of voice when telling me made me more upset because he sounded like he was blaming me. i told him "okay i didn't know." the doctor charted in his progress note that he removed the picc.

thanks for the explanation!

angel

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Specializes in LTC.
the doctor removed the picc himself. actually, he asked me for the supplies. he said he needed suture removal kit (which he didn't use and gave back to me), 2x2 gauze,paper tape, and alcohol swabs. i then asked if he needed the measuring tape for the catheter and told me no. i did not know what kind of a catheter it was. but i was upset with my supervisor for lecturing me that it was my responsibility to measure the catheter and chart it. he made me feel bad like i'm incompetent or something and his tone of voice when telling me made me more upset because he sounded like he was blaming me. i told him "okay i didn't know." the doctor charted in his progress note that he removed the picc.

thanks for the explanation!

angel

i think the doc should be responsible for measuring the catheter. however, since everything falls on the nurses i would have probably measured it anyway just to cya but still document that it was removed by md, no complications, etc, etc. my thought is that if the patient had a catheter embolism they would question the nurse since we are the last link in the chain in every situation. i wouldn't beat myself up over it. your boss seems like a prune. its a learning lesson for you , me, and others as well.

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i work ltc and my job does not allow staff rns to remove picc even if we are iv certified. the md comes and removes them. the doctor came today and removed left upper arm picc from my patient. i gave him all the supplies (gauze, alcohol swabs, etc.) and asked if he needed the measuring tape because i know the catheter needs to be measured and compare with the original length. the doctor said no he does need it and he won't measure it. doctor removed picc and put dressing, and charted and left. then my supervisor came and i told him the picc was just removed by the md. he asked me if i had measure it. i told him no that i asked the md if he needed the measuring tape and he said no. my supervisor said it was my responsibility to measure the catheter and chart it. i told him why when it was the md who removed the picc and not me. plus he was the primary doctor. if i had removed the picc myself, then of course i would measure the catheter. i was not even in the same room with the doctor when he was removing it.

what do you guys think? this is the first time an md came to my shift (3-11) and removed a picc so i didn't know what to do.

thanks,

angel

does your institution have a policy on removal of the picc line. i would always follow this and you'll keep from getting in trouble. lesson learned...:twocents:

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So would your boss have preferred you to dig through the sharps container looking for the PICC after the MD deposited it there???

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
i work ltc and my job does not allow staff rns to remove picc even if we are iv certified. the md comes and removes them. the doctor came today and removed left upper arm picc from my patient. i gave him all the supplies (gauze, alcohol swabs, etc.) and asked if he needed the measuring tape because i know the catheter needs to be measured and compare with the original length. the doctor said no he does need it and he won't measure it. doctor removed picc and put dressing, and charted and left. then my supervisor came and i told him the picc was just removed by the md. he asked me if i had measure it. i told him no that i asked the md if he needed the measuring tape and he said no. my supervisor said it was my responsibility to measure the catheter and chart it. i told him why when it was the md who removed the picc and not me. plus he was the primary doctor. if i had removed the picc myself, then of course i would measure the catheter. i was not even in the same room with the doctor when he was removing it.

what do you guys think? this is the first time an md came to my shift (3-11) and removed a picc so i didn't know what to do.

thanks,

angel

what kind of picc's are you usings?

we don't measure ours either because the measurements appear directly on the catheter and we simply check to make sure the tip is intact.

there is no reason to measure if they appear on the catheter.

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I've had 3 (or 4?) PICCs removed, and they stuck a couple of 2x2's on it with a bandaid, and a little pressure for a couple of minutes, and called it a day- first one was in 2007, and I lived to tell about it :) I've removed countless subclavians, and a couple of PICCs, and measuring the PICCs was never part of it. We check the end, and document the usual site condition, catheter intact, and any problems.

I go to the surgeon tomorrow re: getting rid of the Hickman-- they use conscious sedation for that (when they put it in, evidently I was 'unconsciously sedated' as the CRNA told me I snored :)

It stinks that you have to go through so much hassle, and that an MD has to come to remove the PICCs at the LTC... never had to deal with that- or noted any co-workers NOT pulling it themselves when ordered.

When PICCs first came about, RNs were certified to INSERT them- I was never interested in that- seemed like too much invasiveness for my pay grade :):nurse:

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Specializes in Vascular Access.
What kind of PICC's are you usings?

We don't measure ours either because the measurements appear directly on the catheter and we simply check to make sure the tip is intact.

There is no reason to measure if they appear on the catheter.

I would never just look at the markings on a PICC and say.... Oh, it's all there... Some PICC's start their cm markings at the distal end, whereas others start their cm markings at the proximal end. Did you place 43cm? And is the PICC measuring 43 cm now that it is out? Okay, I'm cool with that. but how do you make sure the "tip is intact" as you put it? If you chart that very thing, you're setting yourself up for a losing lawsuit.

How did you determine that? Was a microscope brought to the bedside and you verified that the tip was intact?

Was the catheter cut at an angle, and now it is straight across...ooopppps.

And, unfortunatly, some of the markings, aren't easy to see, or decipher.

A 3fr IV catheter, has markings so timy, that ya' better have good eyes, or good bifocals to see them, heaven forbid I'm looking at a 1.9 or 2 french line.

For the Groshongs, thankfully they have a black tip which is how you know, it's all there!

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Specializes in Vascular Access.
I've had 3 (or 4?) PICCs removed, and they stuck a couple of 2x2's on it with a bandaid, and a little pressure for a couple of minutes, and called it a day- first one was in 2007, and I lived to tell about it :) I've removed countless subclavians, and a couple of PICCs, and measuring the PICCs was never part of it. We check the end, and document the usual site condition, catheter intact, and any problems.

I go to the surgeon tomorrow re: getting rid of the Hickman-- they use conscious sedation for that (when they put it in, evidently I was 'unconsciously sedated' as the CRNA told me I snored :)

It stinks that you have to go through so much hassle, and that an MD has to come to remove the PICCs at the LTC... never had to deal with that- or noted any co-workers NOT pulling it themselves when ordered.

When PICCs first came about, RNs were certified to INSERT them- I was never interested in that- seemed like too much invasiveness for my pay grade :):nurse:

Well, you were truly "blessed" not to suffer an air embolism s/p removal if a 2x2 and bandaid is all they put on it!

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Specializes in Sub Acute Rehab/ Oncology Med-Surg.

I was taught that you measured the catheter and made sure the tip is intact.

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