Patient has a platelet count of 17,000. Home Care nurse questions removal of PICC in home setting due to bleeding risk. No specific organizational policy addresses this and Interventional Radiology departments do not have a protocol/guideline. Extended time with pressure to site will be done, but what "risk level" is this thought to be in the home setting?
It would seem logical to me that if pressure is held post removal for an adequate period of time, and the dressing assessed by the family for continued bleeding that this can be safely done. Remember it is in a PERIPHERAL VEIN, not an artery. If the nurse or family is unable to stop the bleeding, the patient can always be transported to an ER. Patients pull out their own catheters at home all the time, and have no idea what their platelet counts are.
Chris Cavanaugh, RN, BSN, CRNI, VA-BC