Are you asking about a regular blood culture or about a blood culture to determine if the catheter is the source of a BSI? If you are trying to determine if the PICC is the source, you will need to draw one culture from the PICC and one from a peripheral site for comparison either by counting CFUs or by time to positivity. If it is a regular blood culture for other reasons, the catheter culture could give a false positive because all CVADs will have intraluminal biofilm. Lynn
There is a larger hospital close by that apparently does not allow labs to be drawn from PICC related to and increased risk of thrombus. Do most hospitals allow blood to be drawn from PICC lines?
I have never heard of any hospital that prohibits blood sampling from PICC due to an increased risk of vein thrombosis or intraluminal thrombotic occlusion. There is a serious movement to reduce using all CVADs for obtaining blood samples due to the fact that it increases hub manipulation which increases the risk of contamination. This theory has not been demonstrated in an actual study. I do not believe that using a PICC for blood sampling would have any risk for increased vein thrombosis. There could be a risk of intraluminal thrombotic occlusion if it were not completely and quickly flushed. Lynn
Are you asking about a regular blood culture or about a blood culture to determine if the catheter is the source of a BSI? If you are trying to determine if the PICC is the source, you will need to draw one culture from the PICC and one from a peripheral site for comparison either by counting CFUs or by time to positivity. If it is a regular blood culture for other reasons, the catheter culture could give a false positive because all CVADs will have intraluminal biofilm. 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
There is a larger hospital close by that apparently does not allow labs to be drawn from PICC related to and increased risk of thrombus. Do most hospitals allow blood to be drawn from PICC lines?
Thank You
Celia Brown
I have never heard of any hospital that prohibits blood sampling from PICC due to an increased risk of vein thrombosis or intraluminal thrombotic occlusion. There is a serious movement to reduce using all CVADs for obtaining blood samples due to the fact that it increases hub manipulation which increases the risk of contamination. This theory has not been demonstrated in an actual study. I do not believe that using a PICC for blood sampling would have any risk for increased vein thrombosis. There could be a risk of intraluminal thrombotic occlusion if it were not completely and quickly flushed. 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
We actually encourgae lab draws from the PICC, especially for those pt.s that are difficult to stick.
We draw from PICCs and I have not noticed any relationship to increased thrombus formation.