A Comparison of Antibiotic Serum Concentrations Drawn Simultaneously from Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters and Peripheral Veins in Children with Respiratory Infection

• Tobramycin and vancomycin antibiotic levels are comparable when drawn peripherally and through a newly inserted PICC line.
• Establishment of standardized protocol for drawing levels from PICC lines was developed.
• Recommendations for future studies were proposed.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate serum concentration of antibiotics drawn from a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) compared with a peripheral venipuncture. This prospective comparative study included patients with ages 1 month to 21 years admitted with a respiratory infection requiring IV vancomycin or IV tobramycin via a newly placed PICC. The difference between the antibiotic levels from the venipuncture and PICC samples was statistically significant for both the peak and trough levels. However, the difference in values was not enough to impact antibiotic dosing and therefore was not clinically significant.