The effect of permanent central venous catheter care training on complications in pediatric patients

Objective: Central venous catheters (CVCs) are among the venous access devices commonly used in the treatment of pediatric hematology oncology patients. It is aimed to prevent complications with applications in insertion, monitoring and care of the catheter. It is also necessary to maintain home care of permanent CVCs after discharge. This study was planned to retrospectively examine the effects of planned catheter care training given to pediatric hematology oncology patients with permanent CVCs on complications such as catheter use duration, infection and thrombosis. Method: Our study was carried out retrospectively by collecting data from 429 catheter interventions placed in 277 patients with permanent CVC implantation between 2014-2018. The data were obtained from patient files, hospital patient information system and training records. Results: In our study, it was found that 44.5% of the catheter interventions were applied to hematological malignancy, 19.9% to solid tumor and 35.9% to bone marrow transplantation patients. It was found that 47.6% of the patients received planned CVC care training, and 52.4% did not receive this training. Bacterial growth was found in 48.7% of the catheters during the catheter usage period. Bacterial growth rate was found to be lower in catheters of patients who received catheter care training (p=0.017). There was no significant difference in the rate of thrombosis and duration of CVC between the patients who received training and those who did not. Conclusion: The catheter reproduction rate seen in patients who received catheter care training was found to be lower than in patients who did not receive training. This study is the first study evaluating the effectiveness of individually planned permanent CVC care training in our country. Different studies are needed to evaluate catheter care training. Key words: central venous catheter, complications, education, pediatric hematology oncology