A recent study has shown that Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters have the same risks of infection as Central Venous Catheters, click the link below to read the entire study. It was thought prior that CVCs had a higher rate of infection than PICC so this is interesting news. To lower the risk of Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections it is best to administer medications via Peripherally Inserted Venous Catheter whenever possible. The use of vein illumination can be of assistance in challenging patients possibly reducing the need for PICC in those patients who do not require it for treatment.
Source: Chicago Journals, The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
