A PowerGlide is a midline catheter, a type of IV line that sits in a vein in your upper arm and can stay in place for up to 29 days. It’s longer than a standard IV but shorter than a PICC line, filling a gap for patients who need IV access for more than a few days but don’t require a line that reaches the heart. The device is made by Bard (now part of BD) and is FDA-cleared for delivering fluids and drawing blood.
How It Differs From a Standard IV
A regular peripheral IV is the short plastic tube placed in a vein on your hand or forearm. It works well for a few days, but veins start to get irritated, and the IV often needs to be replaced every 72 to 96 hours. If you’ve ever had multiple failed IV sticks during a hospital stay, you already understand the problem a PowerGlide is designed to solve.
The PowerGlide midline catheter is inserted into a vein in the upper arm, and its tip sits just below the shoulder. Because it rests in a larger vein with faster blood flow, the catheter lasts longer and causes less irritation. It’s a good option for people who need IV therapy for roughly one to four weeks, especially those with veins that are hard to access due to frequent needle sticks, dehydration, or chronic illness.
How It Differs From a PICC Line
A PICC line is also inserted in the upper arm, but the catheter is threaded much further, all the way into a large vein just above the heart called the superior vena cava. That central placement lets a PICC handle harsh medications that would damage smaller veins. A PowerGlide midline does not reach the central circulation, so there are limits on what can flow through it.
Specifically, midline catheters like the PowerGlide should not be used for chemotherapy drugs classified as vesicants, total parenteral nutrition (IV nutrition formulas), or any medication with extreme acidity, alkalinity, or very high concentration. Infusion Nurses Society guidelines recommend against using midlines for solutions above 600 mOsm/L, or drugs with a pH below 5.5 or above 8.5, because these can damage the vein wall. Common medications that fall outside the safe range include vasopressors like norepinephrine, high-concentration potassium, phenytoin, and concentrated dextrose solutions above 10%.
If your treatment plan involves any of those, your care team will likely recommend a PICC or another central line instead. But for standard antibiotics, normal saline, and many common hospital medications, a midline works well and avoids the risks that come with having a catheter tip near the heart.
When Doctors Choose a PowerGlide
The most common scenario is a patient who needs IV antibiotics for more than a week. A clinical trial evaluating the PowerGlide Pro enrolled patients in vascular surgery departments who needed IV therapy longer than seven days, had poor peripheral vein access, or required specific medication infusions. That profile captures a wide range of hospital patients: someone finishing a course of IV antibiotics for a bone or skin infection, a patient whose arm veins are “used up” from repeated IVs, or someone who simply needs reliable access without the added complexity of a central line.
Midlines are also sometimes placed before discharge so patients can continue IV therapy at home or in a skilled nursing facility without needing a PICC.
What the Placement Feels Like
Placement is similar to getting a standard IV, though it takes a bit longer. A nurse or specially trained clinician uses ultrasound to find a suitable vein in your upper arm, typically the basilic or brachial vein. After numbing the skin with a local anesthetic, they insert the catheter using a guidewire technique. You may feel pressure but shouldn’t feel sharp pain once the area is numb. The whole process generally takes 15 to 30 minutes, and it’s done at the bedside rather than in a procedure room.
Once placed, the catheter is secured with an adhesive dressing on your upper arm. It’s less visible and less likely to get bumped than a hand or wrist IV, which most patients find more comfortable.
How Long It Can Stay In
The FDA clears the PowerGlide Pro for short-term use of less than 30 days. In practice, many are removed sooner, once the course of treatment is finished. Your care team will check the site regularly for signs that the catheter needs to come out early, such as redness, swelling, or pain at the insertion point.
Risks and Complications
No IV device is risk-free, but midlines generally carry lower infection risk than central lines because the catheter tip stays in the peripheral circulation rather than sitting near the heart. A study of PowerGlide Pro midline catheters found catheter-associated bloodstream infections occurred at a rate of about 1.7%, or roughly 1 per 1,000 catheter days. Symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in the upper arm) occurred at the same rate of about 1.7%.
Phlebitis, which is inflammation of the vein causing redness and tenderness near the insertion site, is another possible complication but is typically minor and resolves once the catheter is removed. The overall complication profile is favorable compared to central lines, which is one reason midlines have become more popular in recent years.
Midline catheters are generally not recommended for patients with a history of blood clots, conditions that make clotting more likely, or end-stage kidney disease where arm veins need to be preserved for future dialysis access.
Daily Care and Maintenance
If you go home with a PowerGlide midline, you or a home health nurse will need to flush it regularly to keep it from clogging. The standard approach is a small saline flush before and after each use, sometimes followed by a dilute heparin solution to prevent clotting inside the catheter. When the line isn’t being used, it still needs a daily flush.
Keep the dressing clean and dry. Your care team will change the dressing on a set schedule, typically every five to seven days or sooner if it gets wet or starts peeling. Avoid submerging your arm in water, though you can shower with a waterproof cover over the site. Watch for increasing redness, swelling, warmth, drainage, or fever, all of which could signal infection or another complication that needs prompt attention.