Abstract | BACKGROUND: Changing a central venous catheter occlusive dressing on a twice-weekly basis is usually recommended in hemato-oncological patients. A longer interval is believed to give rise to infections. However, frequent dressing changes might cause local cutaneous damage. MATERIAL/METHODS: RESULTS: Eighty-one patients with acute myeloid leukemia being treated with intensive chemotherapy were enrolled (twice-weekly group: n=42, once-weekly group: n=39). They had a non-tunneled polyurethane central venous catheter inserted into the vena subclavia and the insertion site was covered by a polyurethane semi-permeable occlusive dressing. No differences were observed between the groups with respect to local cutaneous damage, fevers, or positive catheter blood cultures. There were more insertion-site inflammations in the twice-weekly group (55% vs. 25%, p=0.008). In the once-weekly group it was necessary to change the occlusive dressing sooner in 42% of the cases, mostly due to a soiled dressing and local bleeding, and the real mean interval of changes was 5.4 days. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonging the frequency of occlusive dressing change to a once-weekly interval was limited by an increasing number of unplanned dressing changes. The prolonged interval of dressing changes, with a real mean interval of 5.4 days, did not lead to an increased number of local cutaneous complications or central venous catheter blood culture positivity and even contributed to reduced insertion-site inflammation occurrence.
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Authors | Samuel Vokurka, Eva Bystricka, Maria Visokaiova, Jana Scudlova |
Journal | Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research
(Med Sci Monit)
Vol. 15
Issue 3
Pg. CR107-10
(Mar 2009)
ISSN: 1643-3750 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 19247240
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Topics |
- Catheter-Related Infections
(blood, complications, microbiology)
- Catheterization, Central Venous
(adverse effects)
- Female
- Fever
(complications)
- Humans
- Inflammation
(complications)
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute
(complications, drug therapy)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Occlusive Dressings
(adverse effects)
- Pain
(complications)
- Skin
(pathology)
- Time Factors
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