Clinical Research in Vascular Access Devices

Dear Colleagues,

Vascular access devices (VADs) are among the most frequently used medical instruments. A significant proportion of hospitalized patients are administered venous catheters, and their utilization has similarly expanded among outpatient populations for the administration of chemotherapy, antibiotics, nutritional support, and other intravenous medications. VADs encompass peripheral vascular access devices (PVADs) and central venous access devices (CVADs). Their length characterizes the former: short peripheral catheters (SPCs) measure less than 6 cm, long peripheral catheters (LPCs) range from 6 to 15 cm, and midline catheters (MCs) measure between 15 and 25 cm. CVADs are further categorized into peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs), femorally inserted central catheters (FICCs), centrally inserted central catheters (CICCs), and totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs).

Therefore, the use of VADs is not risk-free. Complications with VAD use can occur even when using the most appropriate device, insertion technique, and care. The most important are as follows:

• Intraprocedural complication: arterial puncture, pneumothorax, and primary malposition of CVAD;
• VAD infection: catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), catheter-associated bloodstream infection (CABSI), or central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI);
• Catheter-related thrombosis (CRT) and fibroblastic sleeve;
• Tissue injuries (infiltration and extravasation);
• Mechanical complications, including accidental removal, occlusion, rupture of the catheter, or secondary malposition;
• Medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI);
• Catheter-associated skin impairment (CASI).

This Special Issue focuses on collecting works that address the topic from aspects, including visualization techniques, insertion techniques, nursing care, and more, to improve patient care standards and reduce all VAD-related complications.

Dr. Antonio Gidaro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• short peripheral catheters
• long peripheral catheters
• midline
• peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs)
• femoral-inserted central catheters (FICCs)
• centrally inserted central catheters (CICCs)
• totally implantable venous access devices (TIVAD)
• catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI)
• catheter-associated bloodstream infection (CABSI)
• central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)
• catheter-related thrombosis (CRT)
• fibroblastic sleeve
• infiltration
• extravasation