Percutaneous central venous feeding lines in infants: do they perform as well as surgically positioned catheters?

The complications of the administration of parenteral nutrition by central venous catheter were reviewed retrospectively in 71 neonates and infants under the age of nine months. The performance of central catheters inserted by a standard surgical method was compared with that of central catheters introduced by a percutaneous insertion technique using peripheral veins and carried out on the ward. The incidence of catheter related sepsis in percutaneously inserted lines was significantly less (p less than 0.05) than in surgically inserted lines, but in all other respects, there were no significant differences in performance. These findings demonstrate that percutaneous insertion is a simple, safe and cost-effective alternative to surgical placement of feeding catheters in neonates and infants.