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IVTEAM is a global vascular access and infusion therapy resource that provides daily updates for clinical teams. Our updates ensure health care professionals can easily keep up to date with the most relevant evidence related to vascular access and infusion therapy.
With the support of our corporate partners, IVTEAM deliver a variety of educational resources that is free for the end user.
When we first began to develop the early concept of IVTEAM in 1997 the internet was still in its infancy and website development was a complicated undertaking. Today, we have web solutions that ensure web sites are straightforward to develop and more importantly easy to update.
As an IV website it is crucial that IVTEAM stays up-to-date and offers visitors regular, current updates. Each day news feeds are analysed, websites searched and various additional sources of information visited. This results in large amounts of data being sifted through for relevant information every day. Only a small amount of data is relevant to IV practice and makes it onto IVTEAM.
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IVTEAM is a truly international site. 74% of IVTEAM visitors arrive from Northern America and Northern Europe. Most importantly, IVTEAM continues to inform and update practitioners across the world.
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OTHER VASCULAR ACCESS NEWS
Your Voice Matters
ASSOCIATION FOR VASCULAR ACCESS
July 2, 2025
The Association for Vascular Access (AVA) has carefully reviewed the article by Mazzeffi et al., “Interprofessional Approach to Reducing Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections in a Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit,” published in the June 2025 issue of Critical Care Nurse. We are concerned by the recommendation to use midline catheters for vasopressor administration. This approach raises significant patient safety concerns and lacks sufficient evidence to support its routine use in critical care settings. In response, AVA has submitted a letter to the editor to express our position and highlight the need for caution in promoting such practices.
We encourage you to review the article and consider submitting their own letters to the editor of Critical Care Nurse to advocate for evidence-based, safe vascular access practices. To support your response, you may wish to include the following key points:
- Extravasation of vesicant infusion may cause catastrophic injury
- Promoting midlines as a CLABSI-reduction tool may inadvertently shift focus away from central line insertion and maintenance best practices that are already proven to reduce infection rates
- The practice may lead to confusion among non-expert clinicians regarding catheter tip location and intended use, increasing the risk of misuse and patient harm
- There is limited high-quality evidence supporting the safe use of vasopressors through midlines, especially in critically ill populations
- Patient safety and vascular access decisions must be grounded in evidence-based standards, not solely infection prevention metrics
- Letters to the Editor should be submitted via email to cnn.editorialoffice@aacn.org
Your voice matters in maintaining the integrity of vascular access practice, shaping clinical standards, and protecting the patients we serve.
Thank you,
Lori Kaczmarek MSN, RN, VA-BC™
AVA President
Judy Thompson, MSNED, RN, VA-BC™
AVA Director of Clinical Education