Quote Originally Posted by Kc View Post
I've put them in before, but not the ones that go super deep like the one's you're describing. This is the very short version that goes into the skin maybe two inches at most. I might have the term wrong... Apparently the type I am thinking about is just refereed to an IV line. That might need to be fixed in the remaster
What you're talking about is a midline IV. Usually an 18 gauge, and placed with an ultrasound.

A PICC line is a central line that has 50ish centimeters of catheter tube that stops right before the atrium of the heart and is placed in the Interventional radiology dept with live xray/flouroscope imaging to confirm placment. These are not done in the field and are flushed/filled prior to placement or the air would kill the patient once flushed through by antibiotics. A PICC has a chlorohexadine antimicrobial gel in the special dressing to prevent infection that would spread quickly the heart.

PICC lines and IV lines cannot be "pushed back in" after they are discontinued, even accidentally. It would blow the vein, kink and occlude, or kill the patient with sepsis.

Also a person cannot physically start an IV on themselves in the arm. It's way different then injecting into a vein with a syringe. The needles used for IV and PICC lines take two hands to hold, maintain in the arm, then remove the needle. A thin plastic catheter stays in the vein that is over the needle until the needle is pulled out and disposed of once the site is started. You cant do all of this with one hand on yourself.

Also the antibiotics they use in Saul's picc are pretty low key. Vancomycin would be used on a deep wound.