Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters: Own Experience of Clinical Use

Background & Aims. At present, peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) are widely used as a medium-term vascular access for patients with various diseases. In this country, these catheters are used rarely to provide vascular access in patients with cancer. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to formulate indications for implantation of these catheters to oncological patients taking into account our own clinical experience in implantation and operation of PICC. Methods. From November, 2013, till November, 2014, at N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center, 19 peripherally inserted central catheters were implanted to 19 patients. All catheters were placed by anesthesiologists. Peripheral or deep veins of a shoulder were punctured under the dynamic ultrasonic control. Results. Successful catheterization was achieved in 18 of 19 patients. The median PICC dwell time was 33 days (range from 1 to 116 days), a total of 692 catheter days. In one case, during the implantation of a catheter, some technical complication were observed which made impossible its further using. Complications related to the catheter were reported in 7 cases including 2 cases of local infection of the soft tissue at the stationary point of a catheter. Inadvertent removal of a catheter was registered in 3 cases. No complications were registered. Conclusion. Implantation of peripheral inserted central catheters under dynamic ultrasonic control has both high percent of a successful сatheterization and a minimum number of procedure-related complications. After training the staff and patients in operation of the catheter, this venous access allows to perform all necessary courses of treatments of up to 6 months.