RE: biopatch question

[Bartholomew , Jerry A (SPO)]

Don't thread the line through the Biopatch.  I know that is what the manufacturer recommends, but it results in lines getting pulled back as you have discovered.  We just center ours over the insertion site without putting it through the hole.  If you want more skin contact, you can pry open the slit in the patch and lay it so that it grips the sides of the line.  Another problem I encountered when I did thread the PICCs through the Biopatch was a kink where it emerged from the hole and bent side ways beneath the dressing.      Often, when you don't thread the line through the hole in the Biopatch, and try just laying it over the site, it can fall off and roll away before you get the occlusive dressing in place.  You can avoid this by sticking the blue side of the Biopatch to the occlusive dressing, then applying them both together.  Just my 2 cents.   Jerry Bartholomew RN BSN CRNI Vascular Access Specialist Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spokane, Washington   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rinehart, Nancy Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:22 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: biopatch question For those of you out there using this patch: are you having any difficulty keeping the PICC in place when changing the dressing?  We have had some problems with pulling the PICC out a few cms and my nurses are getting very frustrated.   This happens when we have placed the biopatch around the catheter.  In the past we just placed the biopatch on the site, we had no problems and wonderful results… I hesitate going back to the “old” way but neither do I want to lose my PICCs.  Any suggestions?