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Preventing Infection of your Child’s Central Line | Patient Education | UC Davis Children's Hospital

Preventing infection of your child’s central line (Broviac®, Port-a-Cath®, PICC)

When to be concerned your child has an infected central line

  • Call your doctor for a temperature greater than 100.4°F or as instructed by your doctor.
  • Do not give Tylenol® or Motrin® until instructed to do so by your doctor.
  • If the skin around the central line has redness, swelling, drainage, odor or is painful, call your child’s doctor or nurse right away.
To prevent infection
  • Please show “This is My Lifeline” card to health care providers.
  • Keep the dressing and all parts of the line’s tubing dry and clean.
  • Wash hands with soap and water, or use alcohol hand sanitizer before touching the line.
  • Make sure family and friends wash their hands before and after visiting.
  • Do not allow anyone to care for the central line unless trained to do so.
  • Wear a mask when the central line dressing or caps are changed.
  • Always use a clean surface for supplies.
  • Replace the dressing if wet, dirty, has any type of drainage or if it starts to peel off.
  • Before putting on a new dressing, the skin and any part of the line under the dressing should be vigorously scrubbed with Chlorhexidine®. Remember to allow to completely dry.
  • Never blow on or wave hand to dry the skin after cleaning.
  • Use a medicated disc (BIOPATCH®) for implanted catheters (Port-A-Caths®), PICCs.
  • Use BIOPATCH® on central venous catheters (Broviac®) that are less than one week old.
  • Caps and connections should be scrubbed with alcohol and allowed to completely dry. BOTH these steps are necessary (ask your health-care provider to do this).
  • Keep the dressing and all parts of the line’s tubing dry and clean.
  • Do not let the central line dangle in the tub, in your child’s diaper, or fall on the ground
Washing hands with soap in a sink
It’s ok to say “PLEASE wash your hands!” or “Did you wash your hands?”
Supplies
  • Keep supplies in a clean, dry place.
  • Keep supplies away from children or pets.
  • Do not use supplies if the packaging is already open or falls on the ground.
  • Do not reuse syringes or needles.