Novel Strategy to Encourage Early Removal of Central Venous Catheters

The goal of this study is to determine if early placement of a midline catheter in patients with a central venous catheter (CVC) will decrease the number of days the CVC is in place. Patients who are in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) and have a CVC may be approached to join the study. Those who meet study eligibility and provide written consent will be enrolled. The longer the CVC remains in place,the greater the chance of developing an infection or blood clot. Any IV line that is placed (CVC, midline, peripheral line) comes with the risk of infection or blood clots, although that risk is generally less with the midline and peripheral IV lines than a CVC. The treating team will make the decision when to remove the CVC. The timeline of removal will be compared to previous data collected on patients similar to the ones in this study. During their hospital stay, study patients will be monitored for how well the midline catheter is functioning as well as if they develop a catheter related blood clot or infection.