skin to skin with UVCs

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Specializes in NICU, Tele, PCU.

I am working on a CLABSI (central line associated blood stream infection) project for my unit and I need to know if your unit allows preemies with a UVC line to do skin to skin care..... why or why not.

I cannot find anything in the literature about this specific topic. The literature does support nursing to wear gloves when caring for a preemie with UAC/UVC to prevent CLABSI, so do you think it is acceptable to have your UVC and umbilical stump in contact with mom/dad's bare skin for any amount of time? (think of the last time your peeled a baby off a sweaty parent) I know and love the benefits of skin to skin care, but also want to protect my patients from infection!!

Also, if you have any links to any literature that supports your policy/philosophy that would be wonderful!

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Specializes in NICU.

I don't have any literature, but my hospital supported skin to skin, even with PICC lines, UVCs, arterial lines, etc, as long as the patient was relatively stable (some patients had arterial lines for sampling, not really for hemodynamic monitoring)

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

Most of our kids that end up with umbilical lines are too sick to come off the bed. We don't really use them that much. Once the cord is dry it shouldn't be much of an issue

I would think

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We do skin to skin with UVCs but not UACs. We do it when the baby is stable enough to be held,the UAC is not needed by that point. We have had no issue with infections.

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Specializes in NICU.

My unit is definitely ok taking the babies out with UVCs. I usually wait a day after it's been inserted so that it's dried a bit. I mean, infection wise, the cord stump has dried around and been sutured around the UVC, so technically there shouldn't be an opening for anything to get in? I would think it would be really unfair to not allow babies with UVCs to do skin to skin, as a number of them can be feeder growers with poor PIV access hence the UVC and are perfectly well to come out for a cuddle.

I personally am not comfortable taking babies out with UACs but I know a few nurses in my unit that are. I'm just terrified of it coming loose and bleeding like crazy lol.

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Specializes in NICU.
a number of them can be feeder growers with poor PIV access hence the UVC and are perfectly well to come out for a cuddle.

Baby Wrangler, how long does your unit keep UVCs in? We don't leave ours in for longer than a week, maybe ten days at a push, but not long enough to really classify a kid as a feeder-grower yet.

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Specializes in NICU.

Coffee Nurse, we don't leave them in for longer than a week either, but I guess what I meant was those room air 30/31 week kiddos that are just working up on feeds but have a uvc for the first week as nobody can get any pivs in. I was thinking of one of my babies this week, who was a big 31 weeker (less than 24 hrs old) that nobody put a uv in, and took seven pokes to get an piv in that only lasted three hours.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

I am so glad my unit puts PICCs in pretty quickly. If a kid gets 5 sticks they get a PICC or UVC if it is short term, less than a week. Our little ones get UV and UA as needed, usually in no longer than a week, unless the kid needs multiple access.

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Specializes in NICU.

Our policy says no skin-to-skin with umbilical lines. The rationale is not clearly stated, so I'm not sure if it's due to patient instability or infection risk. PICCs and Broviacs are not contraindications to hold.

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Specializes in Family Practice.

We do not practice skin to skin with UAC/UVC I am not sure if it is because of an infection or stability. I will look it up, it may for both reasons. I have anxiety placing them when they are intubated.

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Specializes in Level 3 NICU 17 yrs, Neo transport 13 yr.

Right now our policy is to not hold with either a UAC or UVC, but that policy is being revised. It will be changed so that it is based on the stability of the baby. If a baby has a UVC because of blood sugars or the inability to place a PICC then it will become the nurses discretion.

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Specializes in NICU, Cardiac.

Our policy is no skin to skin with umbilical lines. We also have to be able to see the lines at every check, so no prone positioning or tucking the snuggly over the lines.

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