How serious is a PICC line?

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asked Aug 6, 2022 in Other- Health by Roqwosgise (1,020 points)
How serious is a PICC line?

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answered Aug 17, 2022 by SgtOddball (5,700 points)
Having a PICC line is generally safe but also serious and there's some risks of complications with getting a PICC line although rare.

The risks associated with getting a PICC line include infection, bleeding, blood clot, increased venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, breakage of instrumentation during the procedure.

Getting a PICC line should not be very painful or painful at all.

However some people have reported some pain or some discomfort when getting a PICC line.

A PICC line is used for allowing doctors to give patients liquid nutrition and other medications as well as sometimes blood draws.

PICC line gives your doctor access to the large central veins near the heart and the PICC line can help avoid the pain of frequent needle sticks and reduce the risk of irritation to the smaller veins in your arms

The PICC line that doctors use is a thin, soft, long catheter (tube) that is inserted into a vein in your arm, leg or neck.

The tip of the catheter for the PICC line is positioned in a large vein that carries blood into the heart.

The PICC line is used for long-term intravenous (IV) antibiotics, nutrition or medications, and for blood draws.

PICC lines are used when the IV medications or fluids may irritate veins or when medications are given over a longer period of time.

Although rare, the risks associated with the PICC line procedure can include infection, bleeding, blood clot, increased venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, breakage of instrumentation during the procedure.

A PICC line can stay in your body for your entire treatment, up to 18 months.

Your doctor will remove it when you do not need it anymore.

Having a PICC should not keep you from doing your normal activities, such as work, school, sexual activity, showering, and mild exercise.

PICC lines or “peripherally inserted central catheters” are an intravenous (IV) catheter inserted into a vein in the arm, to reach the area just outside the heart, and generally, should not hurt.

At home, you need to take care of your PICC to keep it working.

Because a PICC line has a high infection risk, you must take extra care washing your hands and preventing the spread of germs.

You'll need to flush your PICC line as often as directed by your healthcare provider.

You may need to flush it after each use. If the PICC line is not in active use, you may need to flush it once a day.

Or you may only need to flush it once a week.

Keeping the area clean, dry and covered is important in preventing catheter-related infections.

A transparent dressing on a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) is changed every 7-10 days and/or if it is damp, visibly soiled, loosened or if redness/drainage is noted at the site.

The average cost of PICC insertion is US$286.04, with 90.8% of materials, mainly catheter, and 9.2% of the labor.

The procedure takes an average of 50 minutes, at US$0.26 per minute for nurses.

Conclusions: the average direct cost of PICC insertion was US$286.04, with emphasis on the catheter.

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