Influence of PICC catheter pretreatment on the mechanical phlebitis in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

Objective To reduce the stimulation of PICC catheter on the initima of vein and the occurrence of mechanical phlebitis through the pretreatment of PICC catheter and controlling the speed of inserting PICC catheter into the vein.Method The breast cancer patients were divided into two groups: test group and control group. The PICC catheters for the test group were pretreated. Before the PICC catheters were inserted into the vein, they were dipped in 100 ml of physiological saline solution containing dexamethasone 5 mg and lidocaine 2ml for 1 minute.Then the PICC catheter was inserted into the vein in uniform speed slowly (2 cm/s). The catheter for the control group was not pretreated with above steps.Results The occurrence rates of mechanical phlebitis were 10.7% and 26.7% for test and control groups respectively,with statistically significant difference between the two groups by Chi-square test with P0.05.Conclusion The pretreatment of PICC catheter can significantly reduce the occurrence of mechanical phlebitis in the breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.