Incorporación de la técnica ecoguiada en la inserción periférica de vías centrales: un nuevo reto para enfermería en cuidados intensivos

Objectives

To describe the results of the incorporation of ultrasound guided technique for peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) in a polivalent intensive care unit.

Methods

Descriptive and comparative observational study. 140 cases were included. Demographic data, type of catheter, use of ultrasound or not, description of the procedure and main complications were collected.

In the descriptive statistics, frequency distributions were performed for qualitative data, and mean and standard deviation for the quantitative variables.

Results

72.9% male and 27.1% female patients. Average age: 63.43 years. 94.5% successful peripheral inserted central catheter (PICC's) insertion. Ultrasound guided technique was used in 48%. The main reason for its use was a difficult venous access or visualization (39%). There were no significant differences between ultrasound guided puncture and blind punture regarding the complications: phlebitis (1.4% vs 2.8%), infections (0.7% vs 0%) and bacteremia (0% vs 0.7%).

Conclusions

The results obtained show that PICC's placement in our intensive care unit is a procedure with high percentage of success and very low incidence of infections, and with positive results after the incorporation of the ultrasound for difficult venous access.