Complications of Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheters: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background and Aim The use of venous catheters is a widespread practice, especially in oncological and oncohematological units. The objective of this study was to evaluate the complications associated with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in a cohort of patients. Materials and Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we included all patient carrying PICCs (n = 603) inserted at our institute between October 2010 and December 2013. The main variables collected were medical diagnosis, catheter care, location, duration of catheterization, reasons for catheter removal, complications, and nursing care. Complications were classified as infection, thrombosis, phlebitis, migration, edema, and/or ecchymosis. Results All patients were treated according to the same “nursing care” protocol. The incidence rate of complications was two cases per 1000 days of catheter duration. The most relevant complications were infection and thrombosis, both with an incidence of 0.17 cases per 1000 days of the total catheterization period. The total average duration of catheterization was 170 days [SD 6.06]. Additionally to “end of treatment” (48.42%) and “exitus”, (22.53%) the most frequent cause of removal was migration (displacement towards the exterior) of the catheter (5.80%). Conclusions PICCs are safe devices that allow the administration of long-term treatment and preserve the integrity of the venous system of the patient. Proper care of the catheter is very important to improve the quality life of patients with oncologic and hematologic conditions. Therefore, correct training of professionals and patients as well as following the latest scientific recommendations are particularly relevant

Antitumor effect of sFlt-1 gene therapy system mediated by Bifidobacterium Infantis on Lewis lung cancer in mice

Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor (sFlt-1) is a soluble form of extramembrane part of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1) that has antitumor effects. Bifidobacterium Infantis is a kind of non-pathogenic and anaerobic bacteria that may have specific targeting property of hypoxic environment inside of solid tumors. The aim of this study was to construct Bifidobacterium Infantis-mediated sFlt-1 gene transferring system and investigate its antitumor effect on Lewis lung cancer (LLC) in mice. Our results demonstrated that the Bifidobacterium Infantis-mediated sFlt-1 gene transferring system was constructed successfully and the system could express sFlt-1 at the levels of gene and protein. This system could not only significantly inhibit growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells induced by VEGF in vitro, but also inhibit the tumor growth and prolong survival time of LLC C57BL/6 mice safely. These data suggest that Bifidobacterium Infantis-mediated sFlt-1 gene transferring system presents a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer