I recieved a PICC consult on a patient with bilateral shoulder surgeries with infection. After discussing with him and calling the infectious disease doctor I put in a consult for a HOHN catheter. We try and not put PICC lines in an infected upper extremity especially when the best thing for the patient is readily available. Not to mention the pain of arm manipulation during placement with this patient. The IR doc did not feel the same. Any ideas where to find more information regarding this?
Paula C RNBC,CRNI
Hi Paula,
I agree with your decision not to place a PICC. I likely would place a CVC in the axillary (depending on the extent of the infection) or IJ. I would also consider placing a coated catheter in this patient due to the close proximity of the infection (Arrow JACC, Cook coated catheter, or any other antimicrobial catheter that has been indicated for central insertion). This is another perfect scenario of why vascular access specialists should be placing central lines!
Disclosure - I work as a KOL and clinical consultant for Arrow.
Best regards
Judy Thompson