RE: Difficult PICC Removals

[Kokotis, Kathy]

Did you do a correlation versus volume of patients to see if the % is the same.  Such as did your volume of PICC usage per month increase dramatically? kathy       Confidentiality Notice:  This e-mail and any attachments are intended only for the use of those to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential and prohibited from further disclosure under law. If you have received this e-mail in error, its review, use, retention and/or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments.[v1.0] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of James Wilken Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 8:44 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Difficult PICC Removals We find that we are having an increase in the number of PICCs that are difficult to remove and requiring the application of heat and time to facilitate removal. When in the past we had maybe one or two a year, we have recently had at least 6 in the past month. We always use Bard's Groshong PICC, 4fr 5 fr. All were optimally placed above the ACF in basilic vein. The patients are from different services so are medical, surgical, oncology etc. male/female, with varied duration of insertion from days to weeks. PICCs have been inserted either by palpation or by ultrasound. All by MST method. We have only recently (in the past few months) begun to use ultrasound for inserts. We do use latex gloves with powder but rinse the powder off before handling the PICC, however find that we are using multiple pairs of gloves for the procedure in order to set up sterile field etc. We do the inserts with one person, no assistants. Any suggestions as to why this could be happening? Thanks in advance for sharing your ideas with us. Patrice Wilken Vascular Access Team Nurse Winnipeg