Central Venous Catheter Utilization and Complications in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU: A Report From the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4)*

Objectives: Current central venous catheter utilization in patients within pediatric cardiac ICUs is not well elucidated. We aim to describe current use of central venous catheters in a multi-institutional cohort and to explore the prevalence and risk factors for central line-associated thrombosis and central line-associated bloodstream infections. Design: Observational analysis. Setting: Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium hospitals. Patients: Hospitalizations with at least one cardiac ICU admission from October 2013 to July 2016. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: There were 17,846 hospitalizations and 69% included greater than or equal to one central venous catheter. Central venous catheter use was higher in younger patients (86% neonates). Surgical hospitalizations included at least one central venous catheter 88% of the time compared with 35% of medical hospitalizations. The most common location for central venous catheters was internal jugular (46%). Central venous catheters were in situ a median of 4 days (interquartile range, 2-10). There were 248 hospitalizations (2% overall, 1.8% medical, and 2.1% surgical) with at least one central line-associated thrombosis (271 total thromboses). Thrombosis was diagnosed at a median of 7 days (interquartile range, 4-14) after catheter insertion. There were 127 hospitalizations (1% overall, 1.4% medical, and 1% surgical) with at least one central line-associated bloodstream infection (136 total infections) with no association with catheter type or location. Central line-associated bloodstream infection was diagnosed at a median of 19 days (interquartile range, 8-36) after catheter insertion. Significant risk factors for central line-associated thrombosis and central line-associated bloodstream infection were younger age, greater surgical complexity, and total catheter days. Conclusions: Utilization of central venous catheters in pediatric cardiac ICUs differs according to indication for hospitalization. Although thrombosis and central line-associated bloodstream infection are infrequent complications of central venous catheter use in cardiac ICU patients, these events can have important short- and long-term consequences for patients. Total central venous catheter line days were the only modifiable risk factor identified. Future study must focus on understanding central venous catheter practices in high-risk patient subgroups that reduce the prevalence of thrombosis and central line-associated bloodstream infection.