An improved technique for the insertion of Hickman catheters in patients with thrombocytopenia and granulocytopenia.

A more delicate means of catheter insertion has been developed to minimize the hemorrhagic and infectious complications which occur with the use of right atrial catheters in patients with thrombocytopenia and granulocytopenia. The essential features of this improved technique are the substitution of intravenous sedation for chest wall infiltration by a local anesthetic and reliance upon a less traumatic tunneling instrument to form the subcutaneous pathway.