Abstract:
Introduction: Among the many interesting aspects of clinical care during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, vascular access still deserves some attention. Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and midlines catheters (MCs) are venous access devices inserted by ultrasound-guided puncture of veins of the arm, which have been associated with the possibility of minimizing infectious complications in different population of patients. We have investigated their performance in SARS-CoV-2 patients.
Methods: As the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 is still unclear, we have designed a single-center, prospective observational study enrolling all patients with established diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to our hospital in the period between October 2020 and April 2021 and who required either a PICC or a MC.
Results: We recruited 227 patients. The cumulative incidence of CRBSI was 4.35% (10 cases), i.e., 3.5 episodes per 1000 catheter days. Four CRBSI occurred in PICCs (4.5 per 1000 catheter days), and 6 in MC (3.2 per 1000 catheter days).
Conclusions: Our data suggest that COVID-19 patients may have a more pronounced tendency for the development of catheter-related infections if compared to other population of patients.
Reference:Frondizi F, Dolcetti L, Pittiruti M, Calabrese M, Fantoni M, Biasucci DG, Scoppettuolo G. Complications associated with the use of peripherally inserted central catheters and midline catheters in COVID-19 patients: an observational prospective study. Am J Infect Control. 2023 May 7:S0196-6553(23)00357-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2023.05.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37160191.