Switching from intravenous to subcutaneous tocilizumab monotherapy
“To evaluate the efficacy and safety of switching from intravenous (IV) tocilizumab (TCZ) to subcutaneous (SC) TCZ monotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients” Ogata et al (2015). Reference: Ogata, A., Atsumi, T., Fukuda, T. et al (2015) Results of switching from intravenous to subcutaneous tocilizumab monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Extension of the MUSASHI study. […]
Ultrasound probe and needle direction: Dominant hand or not?
“We conducted a replicated crossover design study to assess if using one’s dominant hand for operating a probe vs directing a needle would affect the time taken, the number of needle passes and the accuracy of an ultrasound-guided procedure in phantom models” Johnston and Stafford (2015). Reference: Johnston, D.F. and Stafford, M. (2015) Dominant hand […]
Individual versus pooled multiple-lumen blood cultures for CLABSI diagnosis
“We compared individual blood cultures from each catheter lumen versus a pooled-blood culture bottle containing blood samples from every catheter lumen for the diagnosis of CLABSI” Herrera-Guerra et al (2015). Reference: Herrera-Guerra, A.S., Garza-González, E., Martínez-Resendez, M.F., Llaca-Díaz, J.M. and Camacho-Ortiz, A. (2015) Individual versus pooled multiple-lumen blood cultures for the diagnosis of intravascular catheter-related […]
Compliance with standard precautions among nursing students
“We aimed to investigate the frequency of standard precautions (SPs) compliance and the factors affecting the compliance among nursing students (NSs)” Cheung et al (2015). Reference: Cheung, K., Chan, C.K., Chang, M.Y., Chu, P.H., Fung, W.F., Kwan, K.C., Lau, N.Y., Li, W.K. and Mak, H.M. (2015) Predictors for compliance of standard precautions among nursing students. […]
Interpretation of variables in vital signs during transfusion
“Blood transfusion is not associated with significant changes in recipient vital signs. Our data could be used to develop reference ranges for transfusion-related vital signs” Gehrie et al (2015). Reference: Gehrie, E.A., Hendrickson, J.E. and Tormey, C.A. (2015) Variation in vital signs resulting from blood component administration in adults. Transfusion. April 13th. [epub ahead of […]
Assessing patient awareness of proper hand hygiene
“Results of this study appear to indicate a need to focus on patient education and the differences between soap and water versus alcohol-based hand sanitizers as part of proper hand hygiene” Busby et al (2015). Reference: Busby, S.R., Kennedy, B., Davis, S.C., Thompson, H.A. and Jones, J.W. (2015) Assessing patient awareness of proper hand hygiene. […]
How to complete root cause analysis (RCA) for CLABSI
“This article describes optimal RCA techniques based on published literature and expert opinion and then provides a sample RCA for a fictitious but common adverse event: catheter-associated bloodstream infection” Zastrow et al (2015). Reference: Zastrow, R.L. (2015) Root Cause Analysis in Infusion Nursing: Applying Quality Improvement Tools for Adverse Events. Journal of Infusion Nursing. 38(3), […]
Treating blood loss and anaemia with supra-plasma expanders
“Present studies show that correcting the decrease of blood viscosity by increasing plasma viscosity with newly developed plasma expanders significantly improves tissue perfusion” Tsai et al (2015) Reference: Tsai, A.G., Vázquez, B.Y.S., Hofmann, A., Acharya, S.A. and Intaglietta, M. (2015) Supra-Plasma Expanders: The Future of Treating Blood Loss and Anemia Without Red Cell Transfusions? Journal […]
Renal dosing of intravenous drugs in high-risk patient populations
“Equations frequently used to estimate kidney function for the purpose of making renal dose adjustments include the Cockcroft-Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations” Nyman (2015). Reference: Nyman, H.A. (2015) Renal Dosing in High-Risk Populations. Journal of Infusion Nursing. 38(3), p.210–215. [ctt tweet=”Renal dosing of intravenous […]
Mechanisms underlying peripheral iv catheter failure
“Peripheral intravenous (IV) catheter insertion, the most common invasive hospital procedure performed worldwide, is associated with a variety of complications and an unacceptably high overall failure rate of 35% to 50% in even the best of hands” Helm et al (2015). Reference: Helm, R.E., Klausner, J.D., Klemperer, J.D., Flint, L.M. and Huang, E. (2015) Accepted […]
Teduglutide for the safe reduction of parenteral nutrition or fluid replacement
“To assess the efficacy and safety of teduglutide in reducing PN (parenteral nutrient and/or fluid) requirements in PN-dependent adults” Naberhuis and Tappenden (2015). Reference: Naberhuis, J.K. and Tappenden, K.A. (2015) Teduglutide for Safe Reduction of Parenteral Nutrient and/or Fluid Requirements in Adults. Journal of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition. April 16th. [epub ahead of print]. [ctt […]
Subcutaneous infusion innovations reviewed
“Parenteral drug delivery is an essential part of patient care. The subcutaneous (SC) route is easily accessed, is more cost-effective, and provides increased convenience for the patient than the other parenteral methods” Arthur (2015). Reference: Arthur, A.O. (2015) Innovations in Subcutaneous Infusions. Journal of Infusion Nursing. 38(3), p.179–187. [ctt tweet=”Subcutaneous infusion innovations reviewed http://ctt.ec/xz514+ @ivteam […]
Review of US drug shortages and associated patient safety
“Legislative action and the efforts of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have helped reduce the occurrence of new shortages; however, the problem is not likely to be eliminated in the short term and requires effective management strategies” McLaughlin and Skoglund (2015). Reference: McLaughlin, M.M. and Skoglund, E.W. (2015) Drug Shortages and Patient Safety: An […]
CLABSI risk factors reviewed in this study
“We analysed the incidence, risk factors, bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates in central venous catheter associated bloodstream infection (CVC-BSI) in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients and studied the formation of biofilm in CVCs” Kaur et al (2015). Reference: Kaur, M., Gupta, V., Gombar, S., Chander, J. AND Sahoo, T. (2015) […]
Fibrin sheath associated with central venous catheters
“A fibrin sheath is a circumferential sleeve of endothelium that forms around the surface of implanted central venous catheters and frequently remains intact within the lumen of the vein after removal of the catheters. We describe a new entity of infective endovascular fibrin sheath vegetations” Tang et al (2015). Reference: Tang, S., Beigel, R., Arsanjani, […]
Fainting associated with starting parenteral nutrition
“We present a case of a boy who had fainting episodes due to dislocation of a central venous catheter” Pederiva et al (2015). Reference: Pederiva, F., Barbi, E., Zennaro, F. and Neri, E. (2015) Fainting Starting Parenteral Nutrition. Pediatric Emergency Care. April 7th. [epub ahead of print]. [ctt tweet=”Fainting associated with starting parenteral nutrition http://ctt.ec/n4XMc+ […]
Central venous catheter associated vascular erosion
“We report a case of a persistent left-sided superior vena cava (PLSVC) and a possible central venous catheter vascular erosion following insertion of a left-sided internal jugular dialysis catheter” Balasubramanian et al (2014). Reference: Balasubramanian, S., Gupta, S., Nicholls, M. and Laboi, P. (2014) Rare complication of a dialysis catheter insertion. Clinical Kidney Journal. 7(2), p.194-6. […]
Single-lumen tunneled hemodialysis catheter
“We report a case of long-term uneventful catheter use in a patient with previous recurrent vascular access dysfunction and infection” Letachowicz et al (2015). Reference: Letachowicz, K., Gołębiowski, T., Kusztal, M., Letachowicz, W., Weyde, W. and Klinger, M. (2015) Single-lumen tunneled catheter: An old but useful option. Hemodialysis International. April 9th. [epub ahead of print]. [ctt […]
OPAT cost associated with treating foot infections in people with diabetes
“Outpatient intravenous therapy for diabetic foot infections is an effective mode of treatment that can contribute to significant healthcare savings” Malone et al (2015). Reference: Malone, M., West, D., Xuan, W., Lau, N.S., Maley, M. and Dickson, H.G. (2015) Outcomes and cost minimisation associated with Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) for foot infections in people […]
Do vascular access teams reduce intravenous device failure rates?
“…evaluate studies that describe or analyse (or both) the efficacy of VAST compared with generalist models” Carr et al (2015). Reference: Carr, P.J., Higgins, N.S., Cooke, M.L., Mihala, G. and Rickard, C.M. (2014) Vascular access specialist teams for device insertion and prevention of failure. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD011429. […]
Closed intravenous catheter access system reduce BSI
“The use of a closed catheter access system reduced the BSI in low birth weight preterm infants” Rundjan et al (2015). Reference: Rundjan, L., Rohsiswatmo, R., Paramita, T.N. and Oeswadi, C.A. (2015) Closed catheter access system implementation in reducing the bloodstream infection rate in low birth weight preterm infants. Frontiers in Pediatrics. March 16th. eCollection […]
Repositioning of dysfunctional displaced central venous implanted port
“Observational analysis of percutaneous repositioning of displaced port-catheters in patients with dysfunctional central-venous port-systems” Massmann et al (2015). Reference: Massmann, A., Jagoda, P., Kranzhoefer, N. and Buecker, A. (2015) Percutaneous Re-positioning of Dislocated Port-Catheters in Patients with Dysfunctional Central-Vein Port-Systems. Annals of Surgical Oncology. April 9th. [epub ahead of print]. [ctt tweet=”Repositioning of dysfunctional displaced […]
Retained central venous catheter guide wires reviewed
“Over the last decade, the number of reported instances of lost guide wires during central venous catheterization has increased rapidly” Pokharel et al (2015). Reference: Pokharel, K., Biswas, B.K., Tripathi, M. and Subedi, A. (2015) Missed Central Venous Guide Wires: A Systematic Analysis of Published Case Reports. Critical Care Medicine. April 9th. [epub ahead of […]
Preventing device-associated infections in US hospitals reviewed
“Numerous initiatives have focused on reducing device-associated infections, contributing to an overall decrease in infections nationwide. To better understand factors associated with this decline, we assessed the use of key practices to prevent device-associated infections by US acute care hospitals from 2005 to 2013” Krein et al (2015). Reference: Krein, S.L., Fowler, K.E., Ratz, D., […]
Engineered CLABSI reduction with sharklet micro pattern on polyurethane
“These results suggest that the incorporation of the Sharklet micropattern on the surface of a CVC may inhibit the initial events that lead to CRBSI and CRT” May et al (2015). Reference: May, R.M., Magin, C.M., Mann, E.E., Drinker, M.C., Fraser, J.C., Siedlecki, C.A., Brennan, A.B. and Reddy, S.T. (2015) An engineered micropattern to reduce […]
Environmental risk factors for CLABSI in home parenteral nutrition
“Using the PICC, 1 additional infusion day per week decreased the time to first CRBSI, while having the Hickman catheter managed by a home care nurse increased the mean CRBSI incidence. No other risk factors were found” Bech et al (2015). Reference: Bech, L.F., Drustrup, L., Nygaard, L., Skallerup, A., Christensen, L.D., Vinter-Jensen, L., Rasmussen, […]
Treatment options for central venous catheter emboli
“Treatment of patients with catheter-piece emboli who are asymptomatic should be individualised, taking into account the risk of thrombosis, arrhythmia, and infection” Çimen et al (2015). Reference: Çimen, T., Doğan, M., Akyel, A. and Yeter, E. (2015) Catheter inside the right heart for 22 years: to intervene or not to intervene? Postępy w Kardiologii Interwencyjnej […]
Challenging case of a stuck tunnelled haemodialysis catheter
“We report a challenging case of a stuck tunnelled haemodialysis catheter, which required sternotomy with cardio-pulmonary bypass for retrieval” Jafferbhoy et al (2015). Reference: Jafferbhoy, S.F., Asquith, J.R., Jeeji, R., Levine, A., Menon, M. and Pherwani, A.D. (2015) A stuck haemodialysis central venous catheter: not quite open and shut! Journal of Surgical Case Reports. April 5th. […]
Unexpected malposition of a central venous catheter
“We report a case of an unexpected malposition of a CVC in the jugular venous arch via external jugular vein” Ahn et al (2015). Reference: Ahn, S., Lee, J.H., Park, C., Hong, Y.W. and Chun, D.H. (2015) Malposition of central venous catheter in the jugular venous arch via external. Korean Journal of Anesthesiology. 68(2), p.175-8. […]
Review of central venous obstruction in the thorax
“The present review will provide radiologists with a thorough illustration and explanation of the range of central venous conditions in the thorax (including deep vein thrombosis, thoracic outlet syndrome, haemodialysis, and malignancy related causes), the salient imaging findings and interventional management using case examples from the authors’ practice” Collin et al (2015). Reference: Collin, G., […]