Abstract
Background Peripherally inserted central venous catheters are now widely used in cancer patients
who require long-term treatment, for delivering multiple infusates. We aimed to evaluate
the overall use of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line in cancer patients,
with the objective to study the demographic profile, complications, and safety related
to PICC line in cancer patients.
Methods All the patients undergoing treatment for hematological and solid malignancies with
PICC line inserted at the Healthcare Global Hospital during the study were evaluated
prospectively. The complications related to PICC and its safety were analyzed.
Results Five hundred PICCs were inserted over a period of 2 years to 8 months for a total
of 62,440 catheter days (mean of 24 days, i.e., 4.2 months, range: 1–434 days). The
most common indication for PICC was for delivering chemotherapy (100%). Of these,
51 (10.2%) PICCs had complications at the rate of 0.82/1000 PICC days, and hence,
41 PICCs were removed. Hematological malignancies had more complications as compared
with those with solid malignancies.
Conclusions PICCs are comparatively safe method for the central venous access in cancer patients.
Keywords
chemotherapy - peripherally inserted central catheter - safety
