ddevore

There should be no migration. If there is, it should be brought to the MD's attention. The PICC tip should be in the distal 1/3 of the SVC at or near the cavo-atrial junction. SVC's length vary per person, from 3cm to 12cm average. A small migration for one patient could be very detrimental. Prior to use, you should have documentation from insertion confirming where the tip is and what the external length was at time of placement/ release to use. If you do not have that, you should have a policy in place to get an x-ray to verify PICC tip location. Start your documentation there. If it does migrate out, contact the MD and let them decide, It is not only that the tip would leave the SVC, with the more proximal the tip is in the SVC, the greater the incidence of complications. And, of course, it should never migrate in - that would mean contamination of the PICC. Feel free to check with INS and AVA. Best wishes.