I am researching PICC line use in the OR. Is there any research that you have heard of concering this? I have heard PIV's being placed for the OR patient even though they have a PICC line placed. One of the concerns seems to stem from the idea that bolusing through the line is not as rapid as PIV?? I would appreciate any research on this topic, how facilties address this issue, and any professional experiences you may have had with this issue.
Thank You Kathy
my e-mail [email protected]
Catheter length is one factor that adds resistance to fluid flow. So a long PICC would offer more resistance and thus a slower flow rate than a short peripheral catheter. I am not aware of specific research but flow rates are a fact of physics. You can easily see this when you give blood through a PICC. It will infuse a lot slower through a PICC than a short peripheral even when both catheters are the same internal diameter. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
I run a PICC service in the operating room and we place many POWER piccs for use during a procedure if the anesthesiologist believes there might be blood loss. However if a patient arrives with a PICC in place we may start another IV depending on the procedure being done. Also if its a small PICC and not power you cannot infuse quickly if you need to so the PICC would be the KVO for the patient and the IV more of a rapid infusion line. Not sure if this answers your question but we employ use of PICCs all the time.