Vascular Access Devices: Peripheral Catheters
Presented by Lisa A. Gorski
Nonfinancial: Lisa Gorski is a professional member of the Infusion Nurses Society.
This course is the second in a series of six courses aimed at providing the home care nurse with essential knowledge to safely care for patients who require a variety of home infusion therapies. Home care nurses must possess a high level of knowledge and skills to safely insert and manage vascular access devices, provide infusions via an array of infusion methods, recognize and respond to complications, and provide patient and caregiver education. This course focuses on understanding the categories of peripheral catheters, including the increasing use of midline catheters. Safe insertion in the home and post-insertion catheter care and management, including patient education, are also addressed.
Learning Objectives
- Examine three categories of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) with respect to indications for patients receiving home infusion therapy (HIT)
- Determine appropriate catheter size and potential sites for short PIVCs with consideration for safety of the home care patient
- Apply aspects of safe insertion of a short peripheral catheter relative to reducing the risk for complications and improving catheter dwell time
- Deduce key aspects of post-insertion catheter care and management
Meet your instructor
Lisa A. Gorski
Lisa A. Gorski has worked for 40 years as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and educator for Wheaton Franciscan Home Health & Hospice, now part of Ascension at Home, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a CNS, she has played a key role in the home infusion therapy program, contributing to clinician education, policy and procedure…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Peripheral Catheters: Categories
This chapter provides an overview of three categories of peripheral IV catheters. This includes short versus long peripheral catheters and midline catheters, which are increasingly used for shorter courses of home IV antibiotic therapy.
2. Short Peripheral IV Catheter and Site Selection
Attention to an appropriate catheter size and selecting the best insertion site for short PIVCs is important when considering both the safety of the home care patient and optimizing catheter dwell time.
3. Short Peripheral Catheter Insertion
Important to the actual insertion of a short peripheral catheter is attending to procedures to reduce the risk for infection, including skin antisepsis and aseptic insertion. Catheter securement and dressings are important to reduce the risk for both infection and inadvertent catheter dislodgment. Often under-addressed, pain management strategies should be considered during the insertion procedure.
4. Post-Insertion Care and Management
Post-insertion care includes attention to maintaining catheter patency, infection prevention, including needleless connector disinfection, and rotation of short peripheral catheters. For midline catheters with longer dwell time, ongoing site care is done minimally on a weekly basis. Prompt recognition of complications is accomplished through ongoing home care nurse assessment and through patient education.
More courses in this series
Introduction to Home Infusion Therapy
Lisa A. Gorski
Vascular Access Devices: Peripheral Catheters
Lisa A. Gorski
Vascular Access Devices: External Central Vascular Access Devices
Lisa A. Gorski
Vascular Access Devices: Implanted Vascular Access Ports
Lisa A. Gorski
Infusion Therapy: Complications
Lisa A. Gorski
Infusion Therapy Administration
Lisa A. Gorski
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