The central venous catheter in a bone marrow transplant unit: an unresolved problem

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is feasible with a bearable risk and discomfort for patients only if good venous access is provided. Therefore a major task for nurses of a BMT unit is management of a patient's central venous catheter. There is not general agreement about the procedure of handling a CVC and infection prophylaxis. We collected data from some Italian BMT and hematology units by means of a questionnaire. The responses to this questionnaire were not comparable except for some particulars. Each center has its own ritual procedure; even the use of sterile gloves while handling the most dangerous connections of the catheter is not the rule everywhere. It is noteworthy that only a minority of physicians are able to handle a catheter correctly.