Central venous catheter-related thrombosis in clinically asymptomatic oncologic patients: a phlebographic study.
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.
Balestreri
L
L
Radiology Department, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano, Italy.
De Cicco
M
M
Matovic
M
M
Coran
F
F
Morassut
S
S
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