Blood Clot & PICC Lines

[Guest guest]

This is the same thing that happened to me...I would be very wary of

PICC lines in future, because i now know of 4 people that this has

happened to. I had a PICC line put in my left arm, above the elbow

1/2 way between there and my shoulder. It was in for 3 days when

during the night I started to get feverish. I asked for someone to

take my temperature, and an LPN came in and said it was 102.1. I was

not given anything for it.

I was tossing and turning, but managed to fall asleep for a few

hours, then woke up with the worst pain in my arm/shoulder/neck

area. I started to massage the area, and realized that it felt

puffy. I put on my light, and saw that my arm was huge, and I had no

shape of my shoulder or neckline. It was almost completely smooth.

I called my nurse, but she had gone home early for some reason, and

another nurse came in. She saw my arm, and I told her about my

temperature. She gave me some tylenol to get my temp down (it had

now climbed to 103). Meanwhile, she told me not to move if I could

help it, and called the doctor who put in my PICC line. He got out

of bed and came down to the hospital. An ultrasound was done and

found that there was a clot about 3 inches from the incision where

the picc line exited my body, and a 6 inch clot in my left

subclavier (collarbone area) and going up into my jugular. I was

immediately given heparin, told to call my husband (by this time it

was morning) and when my usual nurse came in, she held my hand, and

said that I was in a life and death situation and would be so for

the next 3 days. They told me if I became short of breath, had any

severe chest pain, and further fever/chills to notify them straight

away.

So my husband rushes in to find me in tears, my nurse praying beside

my bed, and of course, he was scared and livid that this could have

happened.

It was found that the LPN had told my previous nurse, but she had

not wanted to bother the doctor that late at night. I was told that

it was on my charts to let him know of any temp change, and I

believe she was asked to not come back into work because of that

incident. It was the scariest 3 days of my life.

My arm is still larger than the other one, and ever since that clot,

I now get restlessness in that arm constantly, or is the first site

for the restlessness to happen if I react to a medication as has

happened many times. It also aches during a weather change..much

like a broken limb does for most people.

I had an ultrasound done June of 2003 and the clot in my arm had

gone, but the one in my jugular is still there, but the blood had

gone around it. I still don't allow anyone to use that arm for blood

or anything else, unless a doctor okays it, and then they only okay

it for extreme circumstances.

I now have a port-a-cath and that is much much better.

[Guest guest]

,

I have an autoimmune clotting disorder so I am on coumadin in hopes of

preventing blood clots, strokes, and heart disease that the clotting disorder

can cause. When I had a PICC line put in in Sep 02, my internal med doc told me

that he puts all patients with PICC lines on at least a low dose of coumadin

because PICC lines are known to cause an increased risk of blood clots. He said

that a low dose of coumadin is actually quite safe if monitored properly. I had

my PICC line for 4 months and never developed a blood clot. I did, however, get

cellulitis in that arm twice while the PICC line was in and then again almost a

year after the PICC line was taken out. I had a port a cath put in my right

upper chest in January 2003 and it is wonderful. However, according to my

doctor, there is still a slightly increased risk of a blood clot with a port a

cath. I don't think I have much to worry about because I had a TIA (mini

stroke) in March 2004 and they now keep me on enough coumadin to keep my INR at

3.0 to 3.5 (normal is less than 1.2). I am just incredibly thankful that my

doctors insisted on putting me on coumadin as I feel pretty sure the mini stroke

might have been a full blown stroke with permanent damage if not for the

coumadin.

I'm so sorry you had such a horrible ordeal with the PICC line. I can't imagine

how frightening that must have been for you.

take care,

W