Assessment of Infants With Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are frequently placed in neonates to optimize nutrition and provide stable infusions of critical medications into the central vascular system. PICCs have been associated with a number of device-specific complications that can manifest during insertion, while the line is indwelling, and/or after the removal of the line. The first article of this series in Focus on the Physical, titled “Assessment of Infants With Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters: Part I. Detecting the Most Frequently Occurring Complications,” presented assessment strategies to detect common complications such as catheter occlusions and catheter-related bloodstream infections. Part 2 of this series emphasizes the importance of ongoing systematic assessment of PICCs for device-specific complications such as catheter migration, dislodgement, breakage, phlebitis, and thrombosis, as well as the life-threatening complications of pleural and pericardial effusion and tamponade. Each complication is described, along with a review of the etiology, a description of presenting signs and symptoms, and key clinical interventions.