Differences in the outcome of surgically placed long-term central venous catheters in neonates: neck vs groin placement

Background/Purpose: Long-term tunneled central venous catheters (CVC) are frequently used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) babies. They are placed either in the neck or groin based primarily upon the surgeon's preference. There is meager published information available about the relative risks of these lines. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of all the tunneled central venous catheters placed in NICU babies at a children's hospital over a nearly 5-year period. Single lumen Broviac catheters were used in all cases. Results: A total of 137 catheters were placed in 126 patients. There were 88 neck lines and 49 groin lines. Age, gestational maturity, and body weight were significantly lower for babies who underwent groin line placement. There was no significant difference in the number of days the catheters were live between the 2 groups. Total complication rates and catheter infection rates were significantly higher with neck lines. The accidental removal rate was higher with neck lines but did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Broviac catheters placed in the groin of NICU babies are associated with significantly fewer complications compared with those placed in the neck. (C) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.