Midline catheters - what could be done better? A retrospective evaluation of clinical registry

Introduction. Midline catheters (MCs) are an option for vascular access alongside the commonly used short peripheral intravenous catheters, centrally and peripherally inserted central catheters.Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the solution implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in a centre where MC access had not been used before.Material and method. It was an observational retrospective evaluation of the 98 medical registries of adult patients.Results. The mean time from hospital admission to midline catheter insertion was 15 days. The most common indications for the catheter implementation were: difficult intravenous access (83%) and expected time hospital stay >6 days (17%). The mean dwell time of the catheters was 9 days. The most common reasons for removal were: the end of intravenous therapy (44%) and catheter blockages (36%).Conclusions. A high level of prematurely removed catheters was observed, despite the existence of a hospital protocol. The high percentage of MCs removed before the end of intravenous therapy may be indicative of the poor quality of care and the need for continuous education of medical staff. The results obtained should be confi rmed in a prospective study planned on their basis in order to identify interventions which are necessary to improve the quality of vascular access care.

Health training - preparing an organism for coping with COVID-19

Coexistence of organisms in the world is a dynamic state, requiring complying with certain rules in order to sustain biological balance. Huge human expansion into the Earth ecosystem results in numerous crises. One of them is a problem of pandemic concerning COVID-19. The dynamics of epidemic development is changing. More and more statistical analyses regarding clinical course of this disease are appearing. Prophylactic actions, specific for each country, are taken aimed at reduction of quantity and intensity of infections in the society in such a way as to make health care systems efficient at the time of pandemic. Great hopes are put in natural defense mechanisms of human body, the effectiveness of which, to a large extent, depends on ourselves. As part of prophylactic actions, heath trainings, that is regular physical exercises together with proper management of rest, nutrition and sleep, can improve physical performance of an organism, strengthen its immunological defense, adapting it to greater burdens. Such a relative load, that impairs functioning of respiratory system and as a consequence limits the ability to obtain energy necessary for independent maintenance of vital functions, may be a clinic course of COVID-19. Development of the Internet and social media considerably facilitates search for those kinds of physical activities that can be performed in the home. That is why, despite the isolation and movement restrictions, everyone can find own way to actively spend free time, which will positively influence his/her organism, and consequently, increase chances in potential encounter with the virus.