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PICC VAT rn
care and maintenance
Sorry for the confusion.  My inquiry was regarding care and maintenance of  a picc site post insertion.  Does anyone order ice to the site 20 minute  four times a day for 24 hours followed by warm soaks 20 minutes  four times a day times 24 hours.  Additionally, does anyone else still do daily mid arm circumference.  Historically, we have never done eiither of these things, but would like to be able to support it with evidence.  We have a new member to our team who is set on these practices, but I cannot find anyting in the literature to support this.  All help will be appreciated.
Julie Shomo
We used to discuss the

We used to discuss the potential benefit of warmth or cold following a PICC insertion before using the Modified Seldinger technique and ultrasound placement.  Years ago, before these techniques, the PICC was placed using an  4 or 5 FR introducer which is approximately the size of a 14G angiocath or larger.  Using that size needle without ultrasound often resulted in trauma to the tissues in the area around the vein, especially if the vein was difficult to access.  Sometimes the area would get red or edematous, and warmth or cold was used in an attempt to reduce these complications.  With the use of the newer placement techniques, these measures should not be necessary.

 

Julie Shomo BS, BSN, RN, CRNI

Infusion Solution LLC

Julie Shomo BS, BSN, RN, CRNI

Infusion Solution LLC

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