[lovemyjob]

Our facility also does not do it under ultrasound guidance. Our PICC nurses put them pretty much where ever they can get them, arms legs, scalp. Sometimes they are put in by surg via cutdown where they isolate the vein and then place the picc, knowing exactly the vein they are going for.

[perfectbluebuildings]

If they cannot get one in surgery on some kids in our hospital, they will often have the radiologist put it in under fluoroscopy the next day.

I love PICC lines!! I do feel bad for some of the kids who have had several and are "hard sticks" because they will come back from surgery with bruises and very sore arms from 5+ sticks, when one particular RN is working, but I would say they are much happier with that than being stuck over and over for PIVs!!

A lot of the CF patients and families like them because they can take care of them at home and not have to stay inpt the whole 3 weeks of antibiotics, if they are comfortable with it (and capable of it!)

One of our older patients has a double-lumen tunneled PICC that she can keep for up to a year- do you know much about those, have you had any patients with them? I think they put it in b/c the pt has poorer lung function and resp. "issues" last time they had surgery, and also is having more exacerbations so it would be hard to keep on sticking. I am not sure why they decided against a port in this case... OK I am rambling, sorry.

[nurs4kids]

Our PICC nurses do not use U/S...only CXR confirmation after placement. Ours are typically placed under sedation, not necessarily in the OR.