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Comment & Response
February 14, 2022

For and Against Routine Removal of Peripheral Intravenous Catheters

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of General, Endocrine, and Transplant Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
JAMA Intern Med. 2022;182(4):457. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8307

To the Editor We congratulate Buetti and colleagues1 on their excellent analysis of whether routine replacement (RR) of peripheral intravenous catheters (PVCs) is superior to clinically indicated replacement. The primary end point of the study was PVC-related bloodstream infections (PVC-BSIs), which we agree is a better measure than the phlebitis rates used by previous randomized clinical trials. Phlebitis is usually associated with mechanical (PVC insertion) or chemical (administered drugs) irritation, rather than infectious causes. Changing recommendations based on infectious complications is relevant because they are burdensome for patients as well as for health care systems.

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