Midline catheters are considered "midway" regarding vascular access. The objective of this systematic review was to explore the current practice, dwell time, and complication rates of midline ...catheters.
Systematic review.
Search on four databases, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Embase, were conducted for English language articles published after the year 2000.
A total of 987 articles were identified, of which 31 manuscripts met the inclusion criteria and were selected for review. Quality assurance was performed based on the Newcastle-Ottawa score. Average dwell time and complication rates were calculated for studies involving adult patients and adjusted for sample size. This analysis included data from the placement of 18,972 midline catheters across five countries. Aside from two randomized control trials, most of the studies analyzed were cohort studies. One pediatric and two neonatal studies were included. The average dwell time was 16.3 days (n = 4,412). The adjusted mean infection rate was 0.28/1,000 catheter days, with 64% of studies not reporting any infection with midline catheter. The failure rate of midline catheters was 12.5%. Adjusted average rates of other significant complications included the following: deep vein thrombosis (4.1%), dislodgement (5.0%), occlusion (3.8%), phlebitis (3.4%), and infiltration (1.9%).
The dwell times and failure rates of midline catheters compare favorably against published data on other types of catheters. Their infection rates are also lower than the reported rates of central venous catheters; however, they have a higher rate of mechanical complications. Active surveillance of infections due to midline catheters is recommended. More data are needed from pediatric and neonatal populations.
Peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) have a potential advantage in preventing central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) compared with the centrally inserted ones ...(CICCs). However, due to a limited number of studies with insufficient statistical evaluation, the superiority of PICCs is difficult to be generalized in adult hematology unit. We conducted a single-center retrospective study and compared the risk of CLABSI between 472 CICCs and 557 PICCs inserted in adult patients with hematological disorders through conventional multivariate models and a propensity score-adjusted analysis. The overall CLABSI incidence in CICCs and PICCs was 5.11 and 3.29 per 1000 catheter days (
P
= 0.024). The multivariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio HR: 0.48; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.31–0.75;
P
= 0.001) and Fine-Gray subdistribution analysis (HR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.37–0.93;
P
= 0.023) demonstrated that PICC was independently associated with a reduced risk of CLABSI. Moreover, the stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis, which further reduced the selection bias between CICCs and PICCs, showed that PICCs significantly prevented CLABSI (HR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.35–0.94;
P
= 0.029). Microbiologically, PICCs showed a significant decrease in gram-positive cocci (
P
= 0.001) and an increase in gram-positive bacilli (
P
= 0.002) because of a remarkable reduction in
Staphylococci
and increase in
Corynebacterium
species responsible for CLABSI. Our study confirmed that PICC was a superior alternative to CICC in preventing CLABSI in the adult hematology unit, while it posed a microbiological shift in local epidemiology.
Venous access is a crucial element in chemotherapy delivery. It remains unclear whether cancer patients prefer a port to a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). Our study aimed to assess ...cancer patients' satisfaction with their venous access device and to compare the quality of life (QoL) of subjects with a PICC to those with a port.
In this prospective cohort study, EORTC QLQ-C30, and a locally developed quality of life survey (QLAVD), designed to assess satisfaction with venous access devices, were administered to breast or colorectal cancer patients over a one-year period following the device insertion. Mixed effects models were used to assess changes on mean scores at different time points.
A total of 101 patients were recruited over a three-year period, (PICC group,
= 50; port group,
= 51). Survey response rates for months one and three were 72% and 48%, respectively. Overall, no significant differences were noted between the two groups in relation to EORTC QOL. At three months, the mean pain scores were 3.5 ± 2.3 for the port and 1.3 ± 0.75 for PICC (<0.001). The mean score for a negative effect of the venous access device on psychosocial well-being was 6.0 ± 4.1 for PICC and 3.0 ± 2.7 for the port (
= 0.005). Complications related to PICCs occurred in 38% patients versus 41% with a port (
> 0.24).
Although subjects with a port experienced more pain during the device insertion or access for chemotherapy, it had a smaller negative impact on psychosocial scores than the PICC. No significant differences in complications rates were observed between the two devices.
Central venous catheters (CVCs) are essential devices in the treatment of pediatric patients with hematological and oncological disorders; however, the most suitable type of CVC for these patients ...remains unclear. We retrospectively compared risk factors for unplanned removal of two commonly used CVCs, peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and tunneled CVCs, to propose which is the better device. We followed 89 patients fitted with a tunneled CVC (total 21,395 catheter-days) and 84 fitted with a PICC (total 9177 catheter-days) between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015, until catheter removal. Patients with a PICC had a significantly higher 3-month cumulative incidence of catheter occlusion (5.2% vs. 0%,
p
= 4.08 × 10
−3
) and total unplanned removals (29.0% vs. 6.9%,
p
= 0.0316) than those with tunneled CVCs. However, the cumulative incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infection did not differ significantly by CVC type. Multivariable analysis identified younger age (< 2 years) sub-distribution hazard ratio (SHR) 2.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.27–4.14 and PICC (SHR 2.73; 95% CI 1.48–5.02) as independent risk factors for unplanned removal. Thus, our results suggest that tunneled CVCs are preferable in pediatric patients with hematological and oncological disorders requiring long-term, intensive treatment.