Reliability of Central Venous Pressure Measurements From Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters vs. Centrally Inserted Central Catheters

Centrally inserted central catheters (CICC) are commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU) for delivery of fluids, medications, and nutrition. They are also used to measure central venous pressure (CVP) which provides critical information about blood volume status and cardiac function of a patient. Currently, CICCs are the gold standard for measuring CVP, but they have a number of associated risks including pneumothorax, major hemorrhage, neck hematoma, and carotid puncture. An alternative to a CICC is a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). A PICC can be placed with lower risks than a CICC, has a lower rate of bloodstream infections, and provides longer-term IV access at a lower cost. PICCs can be used to deliver fluids, medications, and nutrition. However, there is minimal evidence that a PICC can measure CVP as effectively as a CICC. Therefore, a CICC is preferred when a patient requires CVP monitoring in our ICU. Our aim is to compare CVP measurements from CICCs and PICCs. We will also evaluate whether or not the duration of CICC placement affects the differences in CVP measurements between the CICCs and PICCs. We hypothesize that the differences between the CVP measurements of the CICCs and PICCs will be clinically insignificant.

The goal of this study is to determine if the central venous pressure (CVP) measurements obtained from a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) consistently correlate with the CVP measurements obtained from a centrally inserted central catheter (CICC). If the difference between the CVP measurements from the CICC and PICC are found to be clinically insignificant, then it may be practical to place PICCs in favor of CICCs thereby avoiding some of the potential complications associated with CICC placement. We also aim to evaluate whether or not the duration of CICC placement affects the differences in CVP measurements between the CICCs and PICCs. We hypothesize that the differences between the CVP measurements of the CICCs and PICCs will be clinically insignificant.