Sent on behalf of Mary Runde
Are there any guidelines about how long a short term CVAD should stay inplace. In our ICU we are trying to encourage that if longer term therapy
is to be required that we should be switching to a PICC but can't find
anything to dictate the actual length of time the short term line should
remain in. We are also trying to comply with Safer Healthcare Now
guidelines and are beginning to collect data on central line infection rate.
Thank you
Mary Runde RN MN-APN
ICU educator
Sault Area Hospital
There are no studies that have established the optimal length of time that any central venous catheter should remain in place. 2002 CDC guidelines states this time is unknown for all types of CVCs. These catheters remain in place until they are no longer needed or develop a complication or the patient is to be transferred to another setting where another catheter like a PICC would be more advantageous. Most acute care nontunneled central lines come to the US market under the FDA clearance for 30 days. You will only find this in the guidance documents written by the FDA for manufacturers and not in any clinical literature. But many hospitals choose 30 days as the maximum time for their dwell. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
www.hadawayassociates.com
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861