Picc Line Dressing Change How Often

To prevent external infection of the peripheral or central venous catheter frequency.

Picc line dressing change how often.

Picc line dressings are used to protect the picc line insertion site from outside contaminates such as fluids dirt or microorganisms e g. Always check the length of the picc catheter from where it exits your skin to its tip with each dressing change. Assess the dressing in the first 24 hours change for accumulation of blood fluid or moisture beneath the dressing. Use a midline catheter or peripherally inserted central catheter picc instead of a short peripheral catheter when the duration of iv therapy will likely exceed six days.

One of the things you will encounter as a nurse is a picc line also called a peripherally inserted central catheter. Picc line or midline catheter dressing change purpose. Bacterial fungi or viruses. Picc line dressings may also be used to secure the picc line to the patient s skin to prevent displacement.

Patient education at osumc edu has a great checklist that walks you through the process for this. Picc line care how to care for picc lines in nursing clinical settings. At home you will need to change the dressing that protects the catheter site. It is important to learn how to maintain and clean the picc line and dressings as well as flushing.

Hold the catheter at the exit site with the other gloved hand to keep it from being pulled out when removing the dressing. What s a picc line dressing change. After the first 24 hours the frequency is every seven days. Picc or midline catheter sterile dressing change if parts of the gel come off the dressing remove the gel with a sterile saline soaked gauze.

We recommend you check out their step by step picc line dressing guide with illustrations to walk you through the details of your dressing change but here is my general overview. Document the dressing change the appearance of the insertion site and your patient s response. The end of this catheter goes into a large vein near your heart. A central line picc port hickman or other tunneled catheter dressing change is a sterile procedure.

A peripherally inserted central catheter picc is a long thin tube that goes into your body through a vein in your upper arm. Put on sterile gloves. This video shows how to change a picc line dressing. The picc line dressing change process.

Clinical trials haven t established their effectiveness. Because of this we strongly recommend that you receive training by a healthcare professional familiar with central line care and maintenance. How important is it. Antibacterial ointment may actually increase colonization of fungi.

A nurse or technician will show you how to change the dressing.