Table 6.

Problems and trouble shooting in PICC at home.

Problem	Possible cause	Solution
Fever, erythema, tenderness, or pus at the catheter insertion site Swollen limb	Infection	Inform health care professionals
Difficulty in flushing the PICC	Catheter clamp, kink, and thrombus	Unclamp it (if clamp is present). Remove the kink If the catheter is not kinked or clamped, do not force the solution into the tube and inform
Fluid leaking from the catheter	Injection cap is not screwed properly or hole in the catheter	Tighten the injection cap If a leak is seen in the line, fold the catheter over and pinch, apply disposable clamp between the damaged area and the skin, and inform
Missing injection cap	Injection cap became loose and fell off	Replace the injection cap using sterile technique and scrub the catheter hub prior to replacing the injection cap
Skin redness where the tape or dressing was applied	Sensitivity to tape or dressing	Change the dressing size or the type of tape or dressing used
PICC line accidently comes out		Place a sterile gauze pad on the site and press firmly until the bleeding has stopped After the bleeding stops, apply antibiotic ointment and bandage snugly and inform