Pilot study of peripheral internal jugular venous catheters on a hospitalist‐run medicine procedure service

Providers caring for hospitalized patients with difficult intravenous access (DIVA) frequently use central venous catheters (CVCs). One potential alternative is a peripheral internal jugular (PIJ) catheter, which is less traumatic to place and has fewer lumens than a CVC. We describe the results of 2 years' experience from a pilot project of a medicine procedure service placing PIJ catheters in hospitalized patients with DIVA. We successfully placed 34/35 (97%) PIJ catheters in 32 patients with zero complications. Median duration of use was 2.5 days (range 0–53 days, IQR 1–5). Catheter failure rate within 7 days was 32.4%, though it varied across catheter types: 9.5% in 8–10 cm midline catheters versus 69.2% (p