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PICC line

A PICC is a long, thin tube that goes into a vein in your upper arm and ends in a large vein just above your heart. It is put in while you are awake, with numbing medicine, and it lets your care team give treatment for weeks or months without a new needle each time.

The short version

  1. A PICC is a long, thin, soft tube that goes into a vein in your upper arm and ends in a large vein just above your heart.
  2. It lets your care team give you medicine, fluids, liquid food or blood for weeks or months without a new needle each time.
  3. You stay awake while the team numbs your arm and guides the tube into place, and most people go home the same day.

When to get help

Call 9-1-1 now if you have:
  • Sudden chest pain and shortness of breath.
  • Coughing up blood.
  • Severe trouble breathing.
  • Fainting.
  • A fast or uneven pulse.
  • Chest pain or trouble breathing after a cap came off or the line cracked. Clamp the line and lie on your left side.
Call the interventional radiology (IR) team today if you have:
  • A fever of 38 °C or higher, or chills.
  • Redness, warmth, swelling, red streaks or more pain where the line goes in.
  • Pus or blood draining from where the line goes in.
  • Swelling of your arm, shoulder, chest, neck or face on the side of the line.
  • Bulging veins near the line.
  • The line leaks, cracks or is cut. Clamp or tie it between the damage and your skin.
  • The line is hard to flush, or it hurts when fluid goes in.
  • The line has slipped out partly or fully, or the outside part has changed length. If it came out, press on the spot until the bleeding stops.
  • Tingling or pinching in the arm, hand or fingers on that side.
  • The dressing is wet, loose or dirty.

IR team phone: added by the hospital before launch After hours, or if you can’t reach them: go to the nearest emergency department.

Not sure? Call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, any time, day or night. Questions that are not urgent. You cannot reach your care team and are not sure how urgent something is.

Read the full guide

Open the full guide to see the procedure step by step, what to expect before and after, and questions to ask your doctor.

Web address: added before launch

QR code Added once the site has its final address

General information, not medical advice. Your care team knows your situation and makes decisions with you.

Pathway P-006 · PICC handout · Version 0.5 · 14 October 2026 · Draft