What Are Vascular Catheters?

A patient may have a vascular catheter to allow health care professionals easy access to the patient's bloodstream without repeated needle sticks. A vascular catheter is a thin long plastic tube inserted into a major vein.

Uses

• According to the Radiology Info website, doctors use a vascular catheter to administer repeated intravenous feedings, drugs or blood transfusions to chronically ill patients. Patients may receive kidney dialysis or have repeated blood draws through a vascular catheter.

Catheter Types

• A peripherally inserted central catheter is inserted into a patient's arm vein and connects to a large vein near the heart. Tunneled catheters have cuffs that stimulate the growth of tissue around the tube and hold the catheter more securely in place than a non-tunneled catheter.

Catheter Insertion

• A doctor inserts a vascular catheter into a patient's body using surgical incisions while the patient receives an intravenous sedative. A patient may need to restrict activity and protect the areas around the catheter as the incision sites heal.

Risks

• Patients with a vascular catheter may develop blood vessel damage, bleeding or bruising at the incision site and an infection.

Limitations

• Patients with weak and poor blood vessels may not have appropriately strong veins for the long-term use of a catheter. Physicians may need to replace catheters after long term use due to a limited useful life of the tubes and other materials.