Neonatal PICC: One Unit’s Six-Year Experience with Limiting Catheter Complications

Abstract

Safe dressing techniques for neonatal peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) remain controversial in the literature. This article describes one unit’s experience with the placement and management of 491 PICCs during a six-year period with more than 5,600 catheter days. The dressing technique described in this article differs from that seen in the literature with the addition of a protective base layer. Catheter complication rates are low, and catheter dressing changes are minimized with this dressing technique.