Venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence in children has sharply increased with the majority of cases secondary to central venous catheters (CVCs). Among CVCs, the number of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) placed has risen significantly. In this multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study, we enrolled patients aged 6 months to 18 years with newly placed PICCs or tunneled lines (TLs). We evaluated the incidence of VTE, central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and catheter malfunctions in PICCs and TLs, and risk factors of CVC-related VTE. A total of 1967 CVCs were included in the analysis. The incidence of CVC-related VTE was 5.9% ± 0.63%. The majority of the cases, 80%, were in subjects with PICCs, which had a significantly higher risk of catheter-related VTE than subjects with TLs (hazard ratio [HR] = 8.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.1-23; P < .001). PICCs were significantly more likely to have a CLABSI (HR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2-2.2; P = .002) and CVC malfunction (HR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6-2.4; P < .001). Increased risk of CVC-related VTE was found in patients with a prior history of VTE (HR = 23; 95% CI, 4-127; P < .001), multilumen CVC (HR = 3.9; 95% CI, 1.8-8.9; P = .003), and leukemia (HR = 3.5; 95% CI, 1.3-9.0; P = .031). Children with PICCs had a significantly higher incidence of catheter-related VTE, CLABSI, and CVC malfunction over TLs. The results suggest that pause be taken prior to placing CVCs, especially PICCs, due to the serious complications they have been shown to cause.
To create a risk model for hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism in critically ill children upon admission to an ICU.
DESIGN:Case-control study.
SETTING:ICUs from eight children's hospitals throughout the United States.
SUBJECTS:Critically ill children with hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (cases) 0-21 years old and similar children without hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (controls) from January 2012 to December 2016. Children with a recent cardiac surgery, asymptomatic venous thromboembolism, or a venous thromboembolism diagnosed before ICU admission were excluded.
INTERVENTIONS: None.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:The multi-institutional Children's Hospital-Acquired Thrombosis registry was used to identify cases and controls. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association between hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism and putative risk factors present at or within 24 hours of ICU admission to develop the final model. A total of 548 hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism cases (median age, 0.8 yr; interquartile range, 0.1-10.2) and 187 controls (median age, 2.4 yr; interquartile range, 0.2-8.3) were analyzed. In the multivariable model, recent central venous catheter placement (odds ratio, 4.4; 95% CI, 2.7-7.1), immobility (odds ratio 3.6, 95% CI, 2.1-6.2), congenital heart disease (odds ratio 2.9, 95% CI, 1.7-4.7), length of hospital stay prior to ICU admission greater than or equal to 3 days (odds ratio, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.6), and history of autoimmune/inflammatory condition or current infection (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.4) were each independently associated with hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism. The risk model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.73-0.84).
CONCLUSIONS:Using the multicenter Children's Hospital-Acquired Thrombosis registry, we identified five independent risk factors for hospitalacquired venous thromboembolism in critically ill children, deriving a new hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism risk assessment model. A prospective validation study is underway to define a high-risk group for risk-stratified interventional trials investigating the efficacy and safety of prophylactic anticoagulation in critically ill children.
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