image: Matthew D. Ostroff, MSN, APN, is an advanced practice nurse working as the vascular access coordinator and lead clinician for the multidisciplinary ultrasound-guided bedside vascular access program at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center view more
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PATERSON, N.J.—The first-ever casebook on ultrasound-guided vascular access procedures offers practical solutions to complex bedside challenges with an emphasis on improving patient safety. Now available from Springer Publishing, the casebook features 50 chapters highlighting clinical challenges and evidence-based solutions for everything from peripheral to tunneled central lines in neonatal, pediatric, and adult patient populations.
Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Access: Practical Solutions to Bedside Clinical Challenges is coauthored by vascular access expert Matthew D. Ostroff, MSN, APN, and world-renowned cardiac surgeon Mark Connolly, MD, from St. Joseph’s University Medical Center (Paterson, N.J.). The casebook is available for purchase through Springer Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
“Don’t be fooled by the title,” says one of the world’s leading vascular access experts, Mauro Pittiruti, MD, professor of surgery at Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Rome and cofounder of the World Congress on Vascular Access (WoCoVA). “Reading these clinical cases is compelling and informative. It reminds us how even the most complex vascular access cases can be solved using experience, imagination, enthusiasm, and knowledge—not only of ultrasound techniques but also of tunneling and other innovative strategies.”
The casebook’s five major sections cover ultrasound-guided procedures for the placement of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC), peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), centrally inserted central catheters (CICC), femorally inserted central catheters (FICC), and bedside tunneled central catheters.
“Obtaining vascular access has always been a challenge for healthcare workers, and we are constantly trying to improve the process for both patients and clinicians,” says Ostroff. “As a vascular access clinician at a 700-bed trauma center with a very complex patient population, I wrote this book to provide a real-life look into patients that don’t fall within traditional practice guidelines in order to help clinicians of all backgrounds think outside the box and find practical solutions to these increasingly common challenges.”
Individual chapters present unique patient cases, incorporating the latest technology and techniques for safely and methodically meeting vascular access challenges, detailed discussions on therapeutic interventions, and troubleshooting. Each section also features a case study on performing vascular access for patients with COVID-19.
“What’s truly unique about this book is the way Ostroff provides not just an overview of current guidelines and research but also weaves in the practical aspects of how to apply that evidence in real life, right down to explanations of how he assessed the patient, what devices he used, and the specific procedures he performed,” says Nancy Moureau, RN, PhD, CRNI, CPUI, VA-BC, CEO of PICC Excellence, and an internationally recognized expert and consultant in vascular access.
“Any healthcare worker involved in vascular access should read this casebook to add to their understanding of options and to engage thought processes for how to solve problems with the most complicated patients spanning all ages,” Moureau adds.
The vascular access techniques and solutions detailed in the casebook result from a collaboration between Ostroff and Connolly to develop a point-of-care ultrasound-guided vascular access program at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, which earned the 2022 American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Prize for Innovation. The program performs more than 1000 procedures each month, pioneering such access procedures as subcutaneous tunneling, mid-thigh femoral vein central access, and tunneled dialysis catheters with all ages of patients at the bedside, while decreasing complications and improving patient outcomes and satisfaction.
“This is a fascinating series of interesting and complex clinical cases solved through the use of ultrasound, but mostly through the creativity of the author, Matt Ostroff, who represents today's best living example of an open-minded vascular access expert,” says Pittiruti.
About the Authors
Matthew D. Ostroff, MSN, APN, is an advanced practice nurse working as the vascular access coordinator and lead clinician for the multidisciplinary ultrasound-guided bedside vascular access program at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center. He speaks nationally and internationally on his specialization in patient populations spanning from neonatal to geriatric.
Mark W. Connolly, MD, is chairman of the department of surgery and chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center. He has championed a number of new medical procedures; published widely in scientific and peer-reviewed medical journals; and given dozens of local, national, and international presentations.