From
StayCurrentMD
Retained Central Venous Catheter Teaser
With Dr. Ian Glenn · hosted by Dr. Todd Ponsky
Chapter 1 of 4 · Case-Based Learning
Incidence data
Case presentation and incidence of retained catheter fragments
Expert statements on this page
No expert statements were drawn from this page.
Host summaries · secondary, not cited in answers
Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Talk to your (or your child's) care team about your situation.
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What the experts said
5 to 15% of patients who have catheters removed require some sort of additional intervention to remove the catheter
Power ports are polyurethane catheters
For long-term chemotherapy lines, silastic lines should be considered instead of polyurethane lines
Surgical venotomy to retrieve a retained catheter carries a risk of bleeding
Multiple studies of patients with retained catheter fragments in follow-up periods from months to five years showed no complications
No thrombosis was associated with retained line fragments in follow-up studies
No infections were associated with retained catheter fragments in follow-up studies
The actual number of catheters or catheter fragments that get left behind is 0.2 to 2%
Risk factors for catheter retention include patients who have chemotherapy infused through their lines
Risk factors for catheter retention include patients who have catheters that are indwelling for longer than about a year and a half
There is an association between polyurethane catheter material and catheter retention when compared with silicone catheters
The recommendation would be to go with silastic catheters in cases of long-term chemotherapy
In interventional radiology case series attempting endovascular catheter removal, there was a risk of the line completely breaking and embolizing distally
In interventional radiology case series attempting endovascular catheter removal, there was a risk of thrombosis occurring during the procedure
There has never been a report of a problem from leaving a catheter tip in
Long-term data on outcomes of retained catheter fragments are limited
Silastic catheters generally have a larger size diameter for a given lumen compared to polyurethane catheters