posted
Hi, Is anyone with PICC's routinely cultruring, the site, blood or when it is removed, the tip? Thanks, deb
Posts: 122 | From richmond, ca, usa | Registered: Feb 2004
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WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
If infection is suspected, the PICC is usually pulled out and cultured. Sepsis is not something to take chances with because it can kill you quickly. If you have an infection then blood should be drawn from the line and cultured before it is pulled, then blood cultures from the opposite arm should be taken and compared. Either way the tip is a seperate culture...always make sure these are checked and double checked and dont wait and see if you think you have an infection.
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posted
The tip of my PICC line was sent out for testing once my line was pulled. I never had any problems at the PICC site and had blood drawn every week for the 8 weeks the line was in. They never called me about the tip culture so I assume it was fine!
Posts: 154 | From Medford, NJ | Registered: Jun 2006
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
My LLMD (when he took over my care from another doctor) insisted on a once a month blood culture on blood taken from the picc to catch any subclinical infections.
The first blood culture was positive for a fungal infection. Since I'd had the picc line in for 6 months, no one knew how long the infection had been going on.
I felt fine.
The picc line was pulled, and the tip was cultured. MASSIVE amounts of blood was taken out of me during the next several days, and it was cultured too.
The tip was negative for growth, so it was assumed that the infection was in the hub of the line.
I did not have a fungal infection, but since it takes awhile for the cultures to grow, I was put on a strong antifungal drug anyway.
Timaca
Posts: 2872 | From above 7,000 ft in a pine forest | Registered: Feb 2005
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