Central Catheter of Peripheral Insertion in Pediatric Oncology: a Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: Obtaining venous access in children and adolescents with cancer is a challenge for nurses. Central peripheral insertion catheter (PICC) has been used as an alternative to long-term venous access, reliable and safe in Pediatric Oncology. Objectives: Identify the profile of children and adolescents with indication of PICC use, list the reasons for removal and the length of time the catheter is present during cancer treatment. Method: Quantitative study, descriptive and retrospective, which used documentary analysis as a research technique, through medical and institutional records. The sample consisted of 51 records of PICC-type catheters inserted between 2012 and 2016. Results: Male patients corresponded to 66,6% of PICC insertions and the age group being prevalent between 4 and 9 years (30,7%). The most frequent diagnoses were leukemias (41%) and lymphomas (25.6%), with diagnostic time at the time  of insertion of the PICC less than one month (51.9%). The reasons for removal of PICC were termination of treatment (45%), infections (17.6%), traction of the accidental (15.6%), obstruction (11.7%), death of the patient (5.8%), and catheter rupture (3.9%). The mean length of stay was 145 days. Conclusion: The data indicate that most of the removals of the PICC were elective reasons, that is, due to the end of the intravenous therapy, in addition to a high rate of catheter permanence. PICC has been shown to be an important option for intravenous therapy in Pediatric Oncology.