Long-term central venous catheters in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Background: As long-term vascular access becomes more prevalent among patients with AIDS, it is becoming more important to consider their potential complications. Methods: One hundred two central venous access devices placed in 84 patients with AIDS were reviewed for septic and mechanical complications. Catheters were inserted by one surgeon by means of the cephalic vein cutdown technique. The sample included 88 implanted venous reservoir catheters (86.3%) and 14 tunneled central venous catheters (13.7%). Results: Mean catheter life was 141 ± 15 days. Total number of catheter days was 14,383. The catheter-related infection rate was 0.125 episodes/100 catheter-days. Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated pathogen in the sample. Mechanical complications were rare (0.05 episodes/100 catheter-days). Conclusion: When these data are compared with other, smaller series in the literature, the findings suggest that long-term central venous catheters inserted in patients with AIDS are safe and effective for the multiple infusion therapies required in these patients.