Experience with PICC at a university medical center.

A retrospective evaluation of the use of the peripherally inserted central catheters that were inserted by a small, credentialed nursing staff to provide ongoing venous access in the general adult and pediatric patient population at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. Between 1993 and 1995, 602 catheters were inserted in 775 suitable patients. Correct catheter tip placement in the superior vena cava was achieved in 95% of placements with a catheter dwell time ranging from less than 1 day to 353 days (average, 24 days). Strict adherence to obtaining and monitoring quality assurance kept catheter complications to a minimum.