Complications of Central Venous Therapy in Children with Hemophilia in Poland

Introduction

Central venous catheters (CVC) are essential in the management of children with hemophilia who need frequent infusions. Peripheral access is usually sufficient but the use of a central venous line is necessary in many cases.

Methods

CVCs have been used in our department since 1997. During this time 75 CVCs (port-a-cath) have been inserted in 54 patients aged 3 months to 18 years. 52 patients had hemophilia A and 2 had hemophilia B.

21 out of 52 had hemophilia A complicated by high-titre inhibitors. CVCs were inserted 3 times in 2 patients and twice in 11 patients. In the remaining patients 47 they were inserted once. All the ports were inserted on the left side of the body and replacements were inserted on the right side. CVCs were used for ITI in 10 patients.

Results

The period of vascuport use ranged from 2 to 103 months CVL injections were observed 17 times in 13 children. All infected ports were successfully treated with antibiotics. Trombotic complications occurred in 8 boys 11 times. In 2 cases the ends of the CVCs got torn and moved to the heart, while in 2 other cases the reservoir stated leaking.

Conclusion

Our investigations show that CVLs are convenient in use but complications can occur.