Midclavicular IV Catheter Placement

In February 2005, the Board approved revisions to Advisory Opinion Statement #25 entitled “Peripheral Insertion of Central and Midline Intravenous Catheters by Nurses.”  The Board eliminated reference to “midclavicular” tip placement of PICC because published research reported high complication rates associated with midclavicular tip placement.  Nurses should be familiar with current standards of practice and current literature addressing these findings.  Applicable information has been published by the Association for Vascular Access (p.k.a. National Association of Vascular Access Networks - NAVAN) in an article entitled, “Tip Location of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters,” JOURNAL OF VASCULAR ACCESS DEVICES, Summer 1998.