PICC/IV question

Published

Specializes in ICU, trauma.

Hey everyone. I just have a quick question. I recently changed jobs to a new hospital that has an IV team. Called about a patient who already had a picc line but needed more iv access. When they came they told me i would have to have a doctor put in an IJ because one arm had a fistula and the other had a picc.

Not putting an iv in a fistula side is no surprise. But cant put an iv under a picc???? Please someone explain this to me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

If you're talking about inserting an IV distal to the PICC in the same vein, the PICC catheter could partially or totally block the vein proximal to your IV site, causing the medication to pool behind it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.
Not putting an iv in a fistula side is no surprise. But cant put an iv under a picc???? Please someone explain this to me.

The vein with a PICC line in it is restricted. You have a long catheter in that vein. Placing a peripheral IV below the PICC into the same vein or connecting to the vein that contains the PICC is not a good idea. You are attempting to run fluids around the PICC line which could cause infiltration or irritation depending on the medicine running through the PIV. That could cause the PICC/IV team to have to remove the PICC and place it somewhere else.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion