• E E Williamson and J M McKinney.
• Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 55905, USA. ewilliamson@mayo.edu
• J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2001 Nov 1;25(6):932-7.

PurposeThe purpose of this work was to determine the tolerance of silicone peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) of different sizes and lengths to power injection of contrast materials at flow rates suitable for CT studies.MethodFifty silicone PICCs in three single-lumen sizes (3 to 5F) and two double-lumen sizes (6 and 7F) were cut to two lengths (35 and 45 cm), and a uniform volume of 74% ioversol was injected into each at increasing rates of flow by a power injector. The flow rate, volume, and peak pressure were recorded for each injection.ResultsThe respective tolerated flows for the 35 and 45 cm PICCs were 0.65 ml/s at 125 psi and 0.56 ml/s at 125 psi for the 3F catheters, 1.58 ml/s at 150 psi and 1.04 ml/s at 150 psi for the 4F catheters, 4.20 ml/s at 200 psi and 3.02 ml/s at 170 psi for the 5F catheters, 1.50 ml/s at 145 psi and 0.88 ml/s at 150 psi for the 6F catheters, and 9.52 ml/s at 350 psi and 8.78 ml/s at 330 psi for the 7F catheters.ConclusionThe 3F catheters were unsuitable for power injection for CT studies because they could not accommodate adequate flow rates. The 4F single-lumen and 6F double-lumen catheters withstood flow rates that were marginally adequate for CT studies. The 5F single-lumen and 7F double-lumen PICCs tolerated peak flows and pressures well within the range necessary to allow power injection of contrast materials for CT studies. For each size of PICC, the 35 cm length withstood higher flow rates than the 45 cm length before failure.

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