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Theresa
degree of PICC approach

I was taught to insert the needle at a 90 degree angle when inserting a PICC line. I'm wondering if it would save some vessell perforations if the approach was modified to a 45 or even 30 degree angle?

Jamie Sharp
My angle totally depends on
My angle totally depends on the depth of the vien.  The deeper the vein the closer my angle gets to 90 degrees.  Superficial veins are always about 30 degrees for me.  In fact, there are times when I may start out at 45 degrees, see my needle going off the screen or to the side of the vein and I'll change it to a 90 as I'm moving downward to get to the middle of the vein.  Hope that helps!
Theresa
Thank you, that does
Thank you, that does help...I'm new at PICC insertion, and getting the "feel" of it is going to take quite a bit more practice (which I'm really looking forward to). I like the challenge of each new attempt, and learn something new with every patient.
afruitloop
Using a needle guide will

Using a needle guide will assist you to "learn" these different angles that you have with your needle.  Needle guides are great for beginning PICC teams.  More advanced teams find them somewhat "restrictive" but nevertheless, a needle guide will assist you in learning what the different angles are.

Good luck.

Cheryl Kelley RN BSN, VA-BC

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