title: Central venous catheter-related thrombosis in clinically asymptomatic oncologic patients: a phlebographic study.
abstract: Fifty-seven oncologic patients with short- or long-term central venous catheters (CVCs) and without clinical signs of axillary-subclavian thrombosis were evaluated phlebographically. Different degrees of incomplete thrombosis were found in 26 patients (45.5%) and complete thrombosis, clinically silent, was found in six patients (10.5%). A fibrin sleeve around the CVC was radiologically demonstrated in 45 (78%) patients, 21 of them (46%) with negative standard venogram. Only in four patients there was no evidence of fibrin sleeve or parietal thrombosis. There were no significant differences between patients with long-term and short-term CVCs. We conclude that parietal thrombosis of the axillary-subclavian veins is a frequent event, even if there is no clinical evidence of flow obstruction and we confirm in vivo that a fibrin coating of the CVCs is present in the majority of the cases.
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Balestreri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Cicco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matovic
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Coran
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morassut
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001367:Axillary Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D010690:Phlebography / Q000379:methods; D013350:Subclavian Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D013997:Time Factors