There is no maximum recommended in any standard or guideline. A PICC is actually the safest catheter to place when there are any types of coagulopathies because you can apply direct pressure to the vessel in the arm. This is not true for the subclavian site due to the presence of the clavicle. There have been discussions about this issue on this site before so you might want to do a search and read those entries. Lynn
There is no maximum recommended in any standard or guideline. A PICC is actually the safest catheter to place when there are any types of coagulopathies because you can apply direct pressure to the vessel in the arm. This is not true for the subclavian site due to the presence of the clavicle. There have been discussions about this issue on this site before so you might want to do a search and read those entries. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
I have never not placed a PICC based on PT or PTT. Oddly enough, in my experience they rarely bleed after insertion. Go figure.
Mike