[Use of the Broviac/Hickman catheter in pediatric oncology].

This retrospective study reports data from 28 children with malignancy aged from 4 months to 15 years to whom 32 Broviac/Hickman indwelling central venous catheters were inserted. Catheter placement ranged from 36 to 381 days with a median of 177 days; thus a cumulative period of more than 12 patients' years could be analyzed. The patients were not continuously hospitalized but spent a median of 44% of their time as catheter-patients at home. The maintenance of the catheter was performed by the parents in an uniformed regimen daily. We registered a total of 22 manageable complications - corresponding to one complication per 202 implantation days. No patient suffered sequelae from the Broviac/Hickman-catheter. Occlusion (12 times) was the most common mechanical complication but patency could be resolved in all cases by installing streptokinase. Four dislocations demanded reimplantation of the catheter. One leak of the external segment was repaired using the commercial repair kit. There were 62 febrile episodes in 22 of 28 patients with simultaneously profound neutropenia in 45% of the febrile episodes. Blood cultures were positive in 11 patients and in 5 of these a catheter-related bacteremia persisted during antibiotic treatment thus requiring catheter explantation. At the end of therapy 40% of the catheters could be removed by manual pull, the rest required surgical explantation. These results demonstrate that with strict maintenance the implantation of a Broviac-Hickman-catheter is associated with an acceptable complication rate even in immunocompromized patients.