Living with a PICC line

September 7, 2008

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This two-stage descriptive study looks at the the views of patients who are living with Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICC).

Molloy, D., Smith, L.N. and Aitchison, T. (2008) Cytotoxic chemotherapy for incurable colorectal cancer: living with a PICC-line. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 17(18), p.2398-407.

Abstract:

Aims. (i) To determine which aspects of living with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line cause Modified de Gramont (MdG) patients most difficulty. (ii) To explore MdG patients’ views of the PICC-line experience. (iii) To determine if patients view PICC-lines as a benefit or a burden when receiving ambulatory MdG chemotherapy.

Design. A two-stage, descriptive study.

Methods. Phase 1 comprised semi-structured interviews. Phase 2 surveyed the MdG population. Phase 1 interview data informed the Phase 2 questionnaire. The setting was a West of Scotland Cancer Care Centre and the sample was: Phase 1, a convenience sample of 10 MdG patients; Phase 2, 62 consecutive patients.

Results. A response rate of 93·9% for Phase 2. The majority of PICC-line patients held favourable views towards having a PICC-line and adapted well with minimal disruption to daily life. Concerns were evident regarding coping at home with a PICC-line, chemotherapy spillage, dealing with complex information and the responsibility of patients/carers regarding PICC-line management. Patients preferred ambulatory chemotherapy to in-patient treatment.

Conclusions. PICC-lines should be considered for more chemotherapy patients but service development is necessary to ensure individual needs are addressed.

Relevance to clinical practice. Contributes to the PICC-line literature by providing a national patient perspective on a range of daily living activities (DLAs). PICC-line patients prefer out-patient ambulatory chemotherapy rather than in-patient treatment. The longer a patient has a PICC-line, the more able they are to manage activities such as dressing. Concerns remain over chemotherapy spillage, partner/carer responsibility for PICC-line maintenance and the proper balance between required information and what the patient wants to know.