Peripheral Inserted Central Catheter Use and Related Infections in Clinical Practice: A Literature Update

Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines are commonly used by clinicians in daily practice. This strategy has been established the latest years as a common approach in many clinical conditions. Apart from their usefulness, PICC use is related to some complications. Aim of this review is to summarize all relevant publications regarding the PICC-related infection, as sepsis remains a high mortality syndrome. We conducted a PubMed search to identify all relevant publications referring to infective complications after insertion and use of PICC lines in hospitalized adult patients. A great number of publications suggest that PICC lines are widely used in the management of patients. The use of peripheral inserted central lines is related with a few complications, including bloodstream infections. Existing data mainly support their use in specific clinical conditions because of the low infectious rates. Some conflicting data also exist regarding PICC use, due to an unclear benefit from their use compared to other commonly used strategies. Although a number of complications, including bloodstream infections are related with insertion of PICC lines, their use has a promising role and can be used when indicated in a wide variety of clinical conditions, especially in specific categories of patients and prolonged periods.