Prospective follow-up of complications related to peripherally inserted central catheters.

UNLABELLED: An increased use of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) in French hospitals has been observed in recent years. We report complications having occurred following the placement of PICC in a teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study was made for 7 months, between October 2010 and April 2011, including all patients having undergone PICC placement in interventional radiology.
RESULTS: Two hundred and sixty-seven PICC were inserted in 222 patients for intravenous antibiotic therapy (68%), parenteral nutrition (13%), or chemotherapy (9%). The median duration of PICC use was 17 days (min-max: 1-140) for the 200 PICC monitored until removal. The most common complication was obstruction (n=41), 16 of which motivated PICC removal (8%). Five cases of vein thrombosis (2.5%) and 20 infectious complications (10%) led to removal. There were 14 accidental removals (7%). The overall infection rate was 2.3 per 1000 catheter-days with 0.86 per 1000 catheter-days for central line-associated bloodstream infection. Thirty-four percent of PICC were removed without any complications without any difference according to use.
CONCLUSION: PICC are a simple alternative to standard central venous catheter but the rate of complications is high and could be decreased by a stringent management and training for this type of catheter.