Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Placement in a Cardiology Ward: A Focus Group Study of Nurses’ Perspectives

Abstract

Intravenous therapy administration through peripheral venous catheters is one of the most common nursing procedures performed in clinical contexts. However, peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) remain insufficiently used by nurses and can be considered a potential alternative for patients who need aggressive intravenous therapy and/or therapy for extended periods. The purpose of this study was to understand nurses’ perspectives about PICC implementation in their clinical practice. As part of an action-research project, three focus groups were developed in June 2019 with nineteen nurses of a cardiology ward from a Portuguese tertiary hospital. From the content analysis, two main categories emerged: ‘nursing practices’ and ‘patients’. Nurses considered PICC beneficial for their clinical practice because it facilitates maintenance care and catheter replacement rates. Moreover, nurses suggested that, since there is a need for specific skills, the constitution of vascular access teams, as recommended by international guidelines, could be an advantage. Regarding patient benefits, nurses highlighted a decrease in the number of venipunctures and also of patient discomfort, which was associated with the number of peripheral venous catheters. Infection prevention was also indicated. As an emerging medical device used among clinicians, peripherally inserted central catheters seem to be essential to clinical practice.

Evidence-Informed Development of a Bundle for Peripheral Intravenous Catheterization in Portugal: A Delphi Consensus Study

“…Previous authors have identified that the lack of an evidenced-informed standard of care could partially explain the unstandardized practices reported across the country [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. This is especially true for Portuguese nurses, who are in charge of all aspects of PIVC care in the country, from device insertion to maintenance and surveillance.…”

“…This is especially true for Portuguese nurses, who are in charge of all aspects of PIVC care in the country, from device insertion to maintenance and surveillance. [ 17 ].…”

Assessing+Knowledge+of+PICC+and+Sterile+Dressing+Change

“…Additional studies found similar response rates from nurses who agreed that PICC training was fundamental to delivering quality patient care (Jarding & Flynn Makic, 2021;Salgueiro-Oliveira et al, 2021). Furthermore, nurses believe that more education and training on PICC line indications and maintenance can help decrease infection incidences and increase patient satisfaction (Jarding & Flynn Makic, 2021;Salgueiro-Oliveira et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2020a).…”

“…The responsibility of the acute care registered nurse is to assess and identify a patient9s needs while implementing nurse-led initiatives to promote patient well-being. An example of a nurse-led initiative is a PICC line sterile dressing change (Jarding & Flynn Makic, 2021;Salgueiro-Oliveira et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2020b). In a cross-sectional study by Xu et al (2020b), a survey revealed that registered nurses scored at a low level of correct responses on PICC maintenance knowledge and training topics.…”