[Infectious sequellae of 913 central catheters in oncology]

Infections associated with central catheters are a significant source of morbidity in cancer patients. The first evaluation done as part of a continuous catheter surveillance program included the 913 central catheters inserted in 1995. Three of these catheters are still in place. All were tunneled subcutaneously, and most were inserted via the subclavian route. There were 839 simple silicone catheters and 74 catheters with a cuff. Two groups were defined based on whether the central catheter was inserted for administering inpatient or outpatient chemotherapy (n = 704) or for another reason (perioperative care, symptomatic or palliative therapy; n = 209). Catheter-related infection was defined as an infection at the catheter site or as septicemia retrospectively shown to be related to the catheter. The risk of catheter-related infection was expressed as the number of cases per 1000 days of catheterization. Reasons for catheter removal were distributed in table I.