Reducing peripherally inserted central catheters and midline catheters by training nurses in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement

Background: Training nurses in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement might reduce the use of more invasive venous access devices (peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and midline catheters).

Methods: We implemented an abbreviated training in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement for nurses on an inpatient medical unit and provided a portable ultrasound device for 10 months.

Results: Nurses on this unit placed 99 ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheters with a high level of success. During the implementation period, PICC and midline catheter placement decreased from a mean 4.8 to 2.5 per month, meeting criteria for special cause variation. In the postimplementation period, the average catheter use reverted to 4.3 per month on the intervention unit. A comparison inpatient medical unit without training or access to a portable ultrasound device experienced no significant change in PICC and midline catheter use throughout the study period (mean of 6.0 per month).

Conclusions: These results suggest that an abbreviated training in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement for nurses on an inpatient medical unit is sufficient to reduce PICC and midline catheters.