Just a few interesting articles…

1.  “Poppy Pocket” – a safe and discreet way for patients to manage their infusion pumps. What a great idea! How many times have our patients complained of having to carry their pumps and nowhere to put it? This was designed by a daughter of a patient who battled cancer and had to carry around a portable infusion pump.   For more information about this product, go to their webiste – Poppy Pocket.

2. Improved Vein Dilation Technique: Gentle touch vs. flicking veins. A nurse presented an abstract”A Scientific Explanation for Why There are So Many IV, Blood Draw and Injection of Contrast Failures,” at the World Congress  of the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.  According to the author, Gail Stotler RN, at least four out of 10 sticks to a vein fail, and not just once based on her documented reserach. By her calculations, she estimated that in 2008 there were 174 million vein access failures divided among the IV, the blood draw and the injection of contrast. She simply uses gentle touch for vein dilatation; even though some previous research cited in other sources mentions heat, she adamantly does not advocate heat. For more information, visit their website

3. How Long Should Peripherally Inserted Central Catheterization Be Delayed in the Context of Recently Documented Bloodstream Infection?  This article was published in the  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR). Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology – January 2012 (Vol. 23, Issue 1, Pages 123-125, DOI: 10.1016/j.jvir.2011.09.024)

The risk of relapsing bacteremia was assessed retrospectively among a cohort of 348 patients who underwent peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) insertion within 6 weeks of a documented bacteremia. The overall risk of relapsing bacteremia was low (three of 348; 0.9%) when PICC insertion was performed in the context of a recent bloodstream infection. The relapse risk was higher when PICCs were inserted within 2 days (two of 31; 6.5%) versus at least 3 days (one of 317; 0.3%) after documentation of bacteremia (P = .02).

4. The case of Amanda Trujillo. Amanda Trujillo is an RN from Arizona who lost her job at a local hospital after she provided education to a patient who was about to receive a liver transplant.   In case you haven’t heard or read, I would encourage to and here’s where you can begin.  http://vdutton.posterous.com/94287821  There are several nurse bloggers who have written about her case and here’s a page where you can catch up on the latest on Facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/NurseUpforAmandaTrujillo

Whether you want to support Amanda or not, I would encourage you to read about her case.  As nurses and infusion nurses, one of our responsibilities is to “educate patients”  and healthcare reforms are focusing more on patient education. This case demonstrates what can happen to someone who is simply doing their job…this could have been you!