rnatfahc

Hello, There are very many variables. At our hospital, we also use the ultrasound machine to guide us with a cross section of the veins. This can certainly hasten things at least as far as finding an appropriate vein. But even if all the legistics are taken care of as well as the x-ray and all, sometimes just clearing the room or immediate area is a huge task. In my experience a PICC insertion can take any where from 40" to 2'. I would really like to develop a plan to make things run smoother. Any suggesstions? Quote" Do not compare yourselves to others, only to your own potential"

hello, i am an infusion nurse specialist in a 500 bed hospital. our team places picc lines as well as pivs for pt.s in almost every unit. we have found an increase in the number of clotted lines that need to be treated with tpa. ( a very expensive treatment for something that should be preventable) at any rate, our policy states that we only tpa picc lines or long term tunnelled catheters and that other acute catheters, if clotted, should be re-threaded. i wonder if any one out there has any data supporting this policy. we need evidence based practice especially to convince the dr.s. our policy also states that we use saline only for flushes and heparin only if specifically ordered. this change was made in response to incidences if itp or dic r/t heparin. also is there any info on the use of tpa on infants?