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PICCs, because of their peripheral insertion site, are less likely than other central lines to cause a catheter-related bloodstream infection in acute care patients.
False
In World Journal of Surgery meta-analysis of 48 papers published between 1979 and 2004, Turcotte et al. reported:
“We found from comparative and prospective studies that acute care patients receiving a PICC or a CVC are at comparable risk of CRBSI and total CRI. The idea that there could be less infection with PICC perhaps emerged from comparing infection rates of stable, in- hospital or outpatient PICC cohorts with ICU CVC cohorts.”(1)
The authors believe that PICCs and CVCs are subject to the same potential sources of infections: hubs, tubing, the insertion site and hematogenous contamination. “If we assume that the pathogenesis of CR-I is similar for PICC and CVC,” they conclude, “it appears reasonable that recommendations on the prevention of infectious complications, which are presently based on CVC studies, be applied to PICC.”
These findings are echoed by a 2005 meta-analysis by Safdar and Maki that concluded PICCs used in high-risk hospitalized patients are associated with a rate of CRBSI similar to conventional CVCs.(2)
REFERENCES:
(1)Turcotte, S., Dubé, S., Beauchamp, G., “Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheters Are Not Superior to Central Venous Catheters in the Acute Care of Surgical Patients on the Ward.” World Journal of Surgery, 2006, Vol. 30, pp. 1605–1619.
(2)Safdar, N., Fine, J., Maki, D. “Meta-Analysis: Methods for Diagnosing Intravascular Device-Related Bloodstream Infection.” Annals of Internal Medicine, 2005, Vol. 142, pp. 451–466.
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Institute of Healthcare Improvement
5 million lives campaign
The 5 Million Lives Campaign is a voluntary initiative to protect patients from five million incidents of medical harm over the next two years (December 2006 – December 2008).
- IHI 5 Million Lives Website
- Overview
- Participants
- Implement the Central Line Bundle
- IHI Getting Started Kit: Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia How-to Guide
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Recommendations of CDC and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee
