I know I posted a comment earlier on Midline Catheters, but I think this line deserves another discussion. This line is underused in our patients with diagnosis of dehydration, COPD, CHF and of course the “difficult” stick. This line is placed in the antecubital area and tip sits in the upper arm. When we look at how many attempts are made for access in these patients we can’t help but wonder why we don’t utilize these lines more often. They come in 3, 4 and 5 fr. Labs can be drawn off the 4 and 5 fr. This line can remain in for uo to 14 days. This line would be great for the patient in the long term nursing facilities as well. If we can treat the patient in their residents (CBFR, Nursing Home) without the costs of transporting them to the hospital to have a PICC placed, the costs associated with this line are much less than the PICC line. No chest x-ray is needed and the risks associated with placing a Midline are less than a PICC line. If the ph of therapy ordered is between 5 and 9 and the osmolarity is less than 600 than this is a great line for the short term needs. Especially if you are just administering short term antibiotics and just hydrating the patient this is the line that is indicated.
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