Incidence of PICC-related venous thrombosis in elderly patients

Objective To investigate and compare the incidence rate of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) related venous thrombosis among elderly patients of different ages and catheter retention time, analyze the risk factors and provide guidance for the prevention of PICC-related thrombosis. Methods Three hundred and ninety-three hospitalized elderly patients (age, 67-98 years old) admitted to our hospital from January 2008 to December 2012 who underwent PICC operation were selected, and their basic diseases, catheterization location, catheter retention time and occurrence of thrombosis were retrospectively analyzed. Results Of the 393 patients, 50 cases (12.72%) were found to have PICC-related thrombosis. The occurrence of PICC-related thrombosis was not associated with age and catheter retention time among elderly patients (P＞ 0.05). There was significant difference between thrombosis group and non-thrombosis group in the comparison of venous thrombosis history (P＜ 0.01). Conclusion A high ratio is found on the incidence rate of PICC related-venous thrombosis in elderly patients, and venous thrombosis history is an important risk factor to predict the occurrence of PICC-related thrombosis.