A review of neonatal peripherally inserted central venous catheters in extremely or very low birthweight infants based on a 3-year clinical practice: Complication incidences and risk factors

The application of peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) in neonates has proven effective in avoiding repetitive insertions and excessive use of transfusion consumables. However, the frequent occurrence of PICC-associated complications deserves special attention, especially in extremely or very low birthweight (E/VLBW) infants, which in turn affects the quality of neonatal PICC practice.
A total of 519 E/VLBW infants were included in this study. There were 77 cases of complications involving 72 infants with an overall incidence of 12.13%. The order of incidences of different complications from high to low was phlebitis (7.71%), malposition (3.66%), leakage (1.35%), pleural effusion (1.15%), central line-associated bloodstream infection (0.58%, 0.25/1,000d), and accidental removal (0.38%).
E/VLBW infants might be more inclined to develop PICC-associated phlebitis. Catheters inserted in the axillary or basilic vein are preferred if possible.

This study is edited by: Fiammetta Piersigilli, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Belgium and
reviewed by: Robin Van Der Lee, Radboud University Medical Centre, Netherlands
Advisory board of the NEVAT

Authors : Yaohua Wu^1,2, Jing Yan^1,2, Mengyan Tang^3,2*, Yanling Hu^1,2, Xingli Wan^1,2, Xiaowen Li^1,2, Qiong Chen^1,2 and Xia Li^1,2
1 Department of Neonatology Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University/ West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,
2 Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China,
3 Department of Child Healthcare Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University/West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China