Conservative management of retained central venous catheters

• Published in: Cirugía pediátrica Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 61 - 65
• Main Authors: Mira-Marcelí, N Albertos, Gallego Mellado, N, Mira Navarro, J, Encinas Goenechea, A, Sánchez París, O, Martín Hortigüela, M E, González López, F, Navarro de la Calzada, C, Garramone Trinchieri, N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.04.2012
• Subjects: Adolescent; Central Venous Catheters - adverse effects; Child; Child, Preschool; Device Removal; Equipment Failure; Female; Foreign Bodies - therapy; Humans; Infant; Male; Retrospective Studies
• ISSN: 0214-1221

Withdrawal of central venous catheters (CVCs) is usually a simple surgical procedure. However, in some cases, the catheter is stuck in the vessel wall and its removal is not possible if more invasive interventions are not performed. We performed a retrospective study from 2003 to 2011 of patients who were clearing a CVC and the factors that could have intervened in the removal impossibility. We compared the type of catheter, the insertion site, the time between its insertion and removal, the primary diagnosis and the treatment. In addition, a monitoring by clinical and imaging tests has been made in patients with retained CVCs. An amount of 174 interventions were carried out. In 5 cases the CVC could not been removed. These 5 cases were patients diagnosed with ALL B and were treated with identical chemotherapy treatment. In addition, at the time of its retirement, all the patients had the CVC for a period longer than 2 years -29 to 84 months-. In patients with retained fragments, no complication arose from this condition. The mean follow-up period was 36 months -maximum 48 months-. The potential complications arising from the presence of the retained CVCs fragments include infection, venous thrombosis and catheter migration. Based on our results, we propose that a conservative management might be considered as an option in these patients.