Infusion Staff Help Create Guidelines in the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access
While there have been guidelines in place for some time regarding central venous catheter care for adults, there has been an absence of best practices specific to the pediatric population in home care. With such variance between the care of children and adults in infusion therapy as well as care in the hospital compared to the home, a need was identified to create guidelines for pediatric home care patients. To accomplish this, a collaborative team was formed.
Jill Wall, BSN, CRNI, and Michelle Curley, RN, CRNI
In January 2012, PHS infusion staff Michelle Curley, RN, CRNI, and Jill Wall, BSN, CRNI, partnered with Darcy Doellman, MSN, RN, CRNI, VA-BC, from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and Nancy Kramer, RN, BSN, CRNI, from the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA). To create these guidelines, they worked off an adult guide and tailored it specifically to pediatrics. The guidelines were derived from a combination of acute care-based research, published standards and guidelines, and professional experience.
Recently, the Journal of Association of Vascular Access (JAVA) approached this team to write an article based on the guidelines. This allowed them to review evidence-based central venous catheter maintenance practices for pediatric homecare patients in a more narrative format while providing examples specific to the content.
This article, Central Vascular Access Guidelines for Pediatric Home Based Patients: Driving Best Practices, appeared in the Summer 2013 issue of JAVA. Learn more about infusion therapy from Pediatric Home Service in our comprehensive guide.
Originally published: October 25, 2013