Background: Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are routinely placed in hospitalized patients who are receiving long-term IV antibiotics or who have poor venous access. In our hospital, 1 in 12 patients on the Medicine service receives a PICC line at some point during a hospitalization. 35% of all hospital-acquired venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) on the Medicine [...]

Background: The University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) fails to meet the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) benchmarks for central line utilization rates and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI). Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are central lines that are overused and misused at UCH. Overuse of PICC lines increases the risks of CLABSI and PICC-associated deep [...]