Background
More than 1 billion peripheral vascular access devices are inserted annually worldwide with potential complications including infection, thrombosis, and vasculature damage. Vasculature damage can necessitate the use of central catheters, which carry additional risks such as central catheter–associated bloodstream infections. To address these concerns, one institution used expert nurses and a consult request system with algorithms embedded in the electronic medical record.
Objectives
To develop a uniform process for catheter insertion by means of a peripheral vascular access service dedicated to selecting, placing, and maintaining all inpatient peripheral catheters outside of the intensive care units.
Methods
Descriptive analysis and χ2 analysis were done to describe the impact of the peripheral vascular access service.
Results
In 2018, 6246 consults were reviewed. Of these, 26% did not require vascular access. Similarly, in 2019, 7861 consults were reviewed, and 35.3% did not require vascular access. Use of central catheters decreased from 21% in 2017 to 17% in 2018 and 2019.
Conclusions
The peripheral vascular access service allowed patients to receive appropriate peripheral vascular access devices and avoid unnecessary peripheral catheter placements. This may have preserved patients’ peripheral vasculature and thus prevented premature central catheter placement and contributed to an overall decrease in central catheter days. With the peripheral vascular access service, peripheral vascular access devices were selected, placed, and maintained by experts with a standardized process that promoted a culture of quality and patient safety.
The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems and frontline workers worldwide. The large influx of these high acuity patients has placed pressure on services to modify their operations to meet this increased need. We describe how the Vascular Access Service (VAS) at a New York City academic hospital adopted a team-based approach to efficiently meet increased demand for vascular access devices, while ensuring safety and conserving personal protective equipment.
Objective:
The surge in critically ill patients has pressured hospitals to expand their intensive care unit capacities and critical care staff. This was difficult given the country’s shortage of intensivists. This paper describes the implementation of a multidisciplinary central line placement team and its impact in reducing the vascular access workload of ICU physicians during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
Vascular surgeons, interventionalists, and anesthesiologists were redeployed to the ICU Access team to place central and arterial lines. Nurses with expertise in vascular access were recruited to the team to streamline consultation and assist with line placement.
Results:
While 51 central and arterial lines were placed per 100 ICU patients in 2019, there were 87 central and arterial lines placed per 100 COVID-19 ICU patients in the sole month of April 2020. The ICU Access Team placed 107 of the 226 vascular access devices in April 2020, reducing the procedure-related workload of ICU treating teams by 46%.
Conclusions:
The ICU Access Team was able to complete a large proportion of vascular access insertions without reported complications. Given another mass casualty event, this ICU Access Team could be reassembled to rapidly meet the increased vascular access needs of patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.