Does anyone uses warmth application after PICC insertion, for 72h, 4 times a day for 20 minutes? Is there any evidence to support this practice? Thanks, Lieve Goossens, Belgium.
This practice started when we first started to place PICCs back in the late 1970's, but the publications that I can recall never stated this should be done for every PICC. Many years ago, we took a look at how many patients actually have early stage mechanical phlebitis in our hospital. The number was so few that we could not justify the expense of a Kpad for every patient. But this means that you must have a knowledgeable staff and patient to catch this problem very early.Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
Thanks,
Lieve