I DO NOT like the new wire. I was inserting a PICC today and the wire got stuck. Would not insert and I could not remove it. After about 1hr of working with it and taking the patient down to Interventional Radiology, we did get it out. The flexible part of the wire had twisted itself into a knot and that is why it would not come out. It was very frustrating!
You are not alone! We have already voiced this same complaint to Bard.
My understanding is they have some modifications to it coming than have been well received by those who tried it.
Gwen Irwin
Austin, Texas
Bard Rep here, you will see the new modified wire in your kits anyday now if you haven't already seen it. Ask your local rep to show you the new wire, it has a shorter, less floppy tip. Also, i think the company is rolling it out as stock depletes so you may only see it in the SOLO PICCs right away.
Hope this helps.
There were a couple of us who got to trial the new wire before they put it in the kits. We found it much easier to use.
Jeffery Fizer RN, BSN
I hope they're not going back to a stiffer wire. I was so unhappy with the original wire that I started throwing a microintroducer from Galt into the field for most of my PICC insertions. It added over $30 to the cost of the procedure, but that's better than tossing the whole kit when you can't get the line in. That old stiff wire would catch on the vein wall very often and fail to thread where the softer tip would fold back on itself and form a smooth loop that advanced very easily. I saw a very marked difference between my success rate and the success rate of other nurses on my team who were using the old wire.
Now that we have the improved wire in the kits, everyone's success rate has improved. If BARD is changing the wire, I hope they give us the option to choose the one we like.
Jerry Bartholomew RN, BSN, CRNI
VA Medical Center, Spokane, WA
Jerry Bartholomew RN, MSN, CRNI
VA Medical Center, Spokane, WA
Paul Howell, PICC PRO, Inc.
Jerry,
Why use BARD products...there are better and safer PICC kits on the market to use than BARD.
Just wondering?
Paul
Paul Howell
Hey Paul,
Who and what is PICC PRO? I have done some searches and am unable to find them? Are you a manufacture?
Jlamb
Hey Paul,
Who and what is PICC PRO? I have done some searches and am unable to find them? Are you a manufacture?
Jlamb
Wonder why they changed the wire? It seems we were all happy with the wires we had. Is there an upcharge to the kit? Many if not most of the end users did not see the wire and have yet to see it until we open our first kit with it included.
Jose Delp RN BSN
Clinical Nurse Manager IV Team
Upper Chesapeake Health
Jose Delp RN BSN
CliClinical Nurse Manager IV Team
Upper Chesapeake Health
I am finding that the new wire is threading much easier than the old. I find there is a lot less vasoconstriction or spasm with the new wire. Could that be because of the increased flexibility?
I am more inclined to use the angiocath as opposed to the needle to avoid the sheering of the guidewire.
This is a response to a really old post.
I did respond to it originally and we did have transition issues to the change of the wire in the kits. But that was so long ago. We managed to overcome in a very short time and I should have reported that it was an easy transition.
I am wondering why this comes up 3 years + later. Did you notice that the original post was 2007 and this latest one was 2011?
Gwen Irwin
Hi, Erica. Go CRNI!