Complications of central venous catheters in patients on home parenteral nutrition: An analysis of 68 patients over 16 years

Purpose: To determine the incidence of central venous catheter (CVC) complications and to analyze the potential risk factors for complications necessitating CVC removal in patients on home parenteral nutrition (HPN). Methods: We studied 68 patients on HPN (44 men and 24 women), examining the incidence of CVC complications and CVC-related infections. The risk factors for CVC-related infection were investigated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The incidences of CVC complications were 0.29 episodes per CVC-year in 45 patients with an external tunneled CVC, and 0.66 episodes per CVC-year in 23 patients with an implanted port device. The incidences of CVC-related infections were 0.17 episodes per CVC-year for external tunneled CVCs and 0.17 episodes per CVC-year for implanted port devices. There were no significant differences in the incidences of CVC complications (P = 0.095), and CVC-related infections (P = 0.406). The incidences of CVC-related infections were 0.04 episodes per CVC-year in 54 patients with malignancies, and 0.68 episodes in 14 patients with benign diseases (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the types of diseases that influenced the incidence of CVC-related infections (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The incidence of CVC complications did not differ between the two groups. The type of disease was the most important predictive factor of CVC-related infections.