Researchers performed a point-prevalence survey and found that 76 percent of hospitalized adult patients had a PVC. They also found a greater-than-expected number of PVCs associated with staph bloodstream infections were: placed in the emergency department or an outside hospital, inserted in the antecubital fossa (the “elbow pit”) and inserted for a longer period of time compared to uninfected PVCs.
Researchers concluded that hospitals should assess their risk of PVC-related infections and initiate interventions to mitigate risk, if such infections are found. They also suggest minimizing PVC placement in the antecubital fossa, removing catheters within 24 hours if they were placed under emergency conditions and replacing PVCs after a 72-hour dwell time to reduce risk of infection.
Read the hospital news release about infected peripheral venous catheters.
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