Mechanical and infectious complications of central venous cannulation in children: lessons learned from a 10-year experience placing more than 1000 catheters.

We sought to better describe the expected incidence of mechanical and infectious complications associated with central venous cannulation of critically ill children. We undertook a retrospective analysis of a prospective data collection of 1056 consecutive percutaneous central venous catheters inserted under the supervision of an experienced surgeon. There were 245 (23%) subclavian (SC), 118 (11%) internal jugular (IJ), and 693 (66%) femoral (F) catheters placed in 289 children with an average age of 6.4 +/- 5.1 years (range, 4 weeks to 18 years) admitted to a burn intensive care unit. Catheter sepsis occurred in 7.4% of SC, 7.6% of IJ, and 4.9% of F catheters (NS, P = .25), for an overall sepsis rate of 5.8%. The number of catheter lumens did not impact infection rate. Infection rates increased in catheters left in situ more than 10 days, increasing to 37.5% at 14 days. Acute mechanical complications occurred in three insertions (0.3%), including two (0.8%) SC, zero (0%) IJ, and one (0.1%) F catheters (NS, P = .20). All three were arterial cannulations that were recognized and treated successfully without surgery. There were no pneumothoraces, vascular lacerations, acute thromboses, or catheter emboli. There were six (0.6%) cases of deep venous thrombosis that occurred in cannulated sites: one (0.4%) SC, two (1.6.%) IJ, and three (0.4%) F sites (NS, P = .23). Patient age did not influence complication rates. A total of 239 (23%) of the CVCs were placed in infants less than 24 months; 273 (26%) 2 to 5 years, 259 (25%) 6 to 10 years, and 285 (27%) >10 to 18 years. Catheter sepsis occurred in 6.7%, 5.9%, 6.2%, and 4.6%, respectively (NS, P = .75). There was no difference in rates of infection or mechanical complication between younger and older children. When closely supervised by an experienced surgeon, a low rate of infection (5.8%), acute mechanical complication (0.3%), and deep venous thrombosis (0.6%) accompanies central venous cannulation of critically ill children.