Which trial do we need? Infectious and non-infectious complications of peripherally inserted central venous catheters and midline catheters

Abstract

Peripherally-inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) are frequently used in outpatient and inpatient settings. Recently, midline catheters have emerged as an alternative to PICCs, with an important increase in use over the last few years ( 1 Bing S. Smotherman C. Rodriguez R.G. Skarupa D.J. Ra J.H. Crandall M.L. PICC versus midlines: comparison of peripherally inserted central catheters and midline catheters with respect to incidence of thromboembolic and infectious complications. Am J Surg. 2022; 223: 983-987 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (2) Google Scholar ). Midline catheters have a shorter length and lower surface area reducing the theoretical risk of infectious and non-infectious complications ( 2 Lu H. Hou Y. Chen J. Guo Y. Lang L. Zheng X. et al. Risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection associated with midline catheters compared with peripherally inserted central catheters: A meta-analysis. Nurs Open. 2021; 8: 1292-1300 Crossref Scopus (4) Google Scholar ). These catheters are 7.5 to 25cm in length, usually inserted above the antecubital fossa, with the catheter tip residing in the basilic or cephalic vein just short of the subclavian vein. The recommended duration of midline catheter use is one to four weeks, while PICCs can remain indwelling for months ( 3 Chopra V. Flanders S.A. Saint S. Woller S.C. O'Grady N.P. Safdar N. et al. The michigan appropriateness guide for intravenous catheters (MAGIC): results from a multispecialty panel using the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method. Ann Intern Med. 2015; 163: S1-S40 Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar , 4 Moss J.G. Wu O. Bodenham A.R. Agarwal R. Menne T.F. Jones B.L. et al. Central venous access devices for the delivery of systemic anticancer therapy (CAVA): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2021; 398: 403-415 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (14) Google Scholar ).