I am a nurse from UCSF and I am part of the Evidence Based Practice Fellowship and I am researching blood sampling from 1.9Fr PICC lines in premature infants and newborns.
1) Does anyone work at a hospital that regularly draws their labs from this small of a catheter or even a 2.3Fr?
 2) If so, has there been any research supporting your units policy and procedure?
 Any feedback would be amazing. I have found a bunch of research supporting blood draws from 3Fr PICC catheters, but none that are smaller. The manufacturer (BD) does not have research supporting or rejected such blood draws.
 Thank you!
I have no problems blood sampling from a 1.9 Fr. catheter. I think technique is key to contributing to the success of this practice. Manufacturers of smaller catheters will not support or outright reject this but do discourage it because of the potential for occlusion.
This has been an interest of mine for some time and I, too, can find no literature. I decided I would need to do my own research. I would be happy to discuss this further with you or collaborate on obtaining supportive data.