Should PICCs be avoided in patients with certain solid organ cancers?
Authors: Mitbander Urvashi , Geer Marcus , Taxbro Knut , Zhang Qisu , O'Malley Megan , Chopra Vineet , Ramnath Nithya 
Published: June 2021

6572

Background: Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are widely utilized in oncology. Previous studies have shown a high risk of catheter-related thrombosis and bloodstream infection in the uniquely susceptible oncologic population; however, most studies are limited by single center, outpatient, retrospective designs. Therefore, we performed a multi-center study to further describe PICC use and complications in the solid tumor population within the inpatient setting. Methods: Data was collected on PICC lines inserted across 50 hospitals in Michigan from November 2013 to December 2019. Patients with a solid tumor diagnosis at time of PICC insertion were selected (n = 3,956). Indications for PICC placement, catheter characteristics, and associated complications were compared by metastatic (n = 1,488) and non-metastatic (n = 2,468) disease. Complications were also compared by cancer type. Major complications were defined as central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI), catheter occlusion, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism (PE). Paired t-test and Pearson Chi-square test were used for analyses. Results: PICCs were most commonly placed for antibiotics (n = 1232, 31%) and chemotherapy (n = 907, 23%). The majority of catheters were multi-lumen with 61% (n = 2362) double lumen and 8% (n = 326) triple lumen. Median dwell time was 13 days. Notably, 17% of patients had another central venous catheter (CVC) at time of placement. Metastatic patients were more likely to have a PICC placed for difficult venous access (24.7% vs 17.7%, p < 0.001) and total parenteral nutrition (20.2% vs 12.3%, p < 0.001) as well as to have a current CVC in place (22% vs 14%, p <.001). Non-metastatic patients were more likely to have a PICC placed for chemotherapy (24.1% vs 20.9%, p = 0.02) and have a longer median dwell time (13.0d vs 11.0d, p = 0.04). Of all solid tumor patients, 15.5% (n = 612) experienced a major complication. Catheter occlusion occurred most frequently (n = 402, 10.2%) followed by DVT (n = 138, 3.5%), CLABSI (n = 107, 2.7%), and PE (n = 22, 0.6%). Catheter occlusion was more likely to occur in non-metastatic patients (11% vs 8.8%, p = 0.03). Rates of CLABSI, DVT, and PE did not differ significantly by presence of metastases. Certain cancers had a higher frequency of major complications when compared to the average solid tumor cohort rate of 15.5%; these were malignant brain (17.2%), pancreatic (18.4%), uterine (18.5%), and ovarian tumors (24.2%). Conclusions: PICCs are associated with significant complications in 16% of patients with solid organ cancers. Alternate access such as an implanted port should be considered; alternatively, limiting PICC placement in the presence of concurrent CVC or minimizing use of multiple lumen PICCs may limit complications and resultant morbidity. Specifically, these considerations may apply preferentially to patients with certain solid organ cancers with higher rates of PICC associated morbidity.