Central vascular catheters versus peripherally inserted central catheters in nurse anesthesia. A perspective within the Greek health system.

PurposeWe present a study comparing the insertion of central vascular catheter (CVC) and peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) by an anesthesia nurse at 2 Greek University Hospitals.MethodsEighty patients, aged 20-80 years, were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups. In group A (41 patients), a CVC was inserted in the internal jugular vein. In group B (39 patients), a pressure-injectable PICC was inserted in the basilica vein.ResultsCorrelations between the methods applied, the patients' characteristics, the procedures' characteristics and the overall satisfaction scores for each procedure were examined. The final results show that the patients of group B (PICC method) were more satisfied with the procedure than the patients of group A (CVC method), at the statistical significance level of a=0.01. Also, according to the results of the analysis, the PICC method offers significantly more comfort and relative satisfaction than the CVC method, at the statistical significance level...