[A clinical study on the optimal placement depth for peripherally inserted central catheter through the great saphenous vein in preterm infants].

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the correlation between optimal placement depth (OPD) and physical measurement parameters in preterm infants receiving placement of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) through the great saphenous vein (GSV), and to establish a predictive formula for OPD during the placement of PICC through the GSV.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for the preterm infants who received the placement of PICC through the GSV in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from December 2022 to February 2024. According to the site of puncture [GSV of the knee joint (KJ) or the ankle joint (AJ)], they were divided into a GSV-KJ placement group (n=38) and a GSV-AJ placement group (n=33). The infants were measured in terms of body weight (BW), body length, the length of the upper and lower parts of the body, head circumference, and abdominal circumference at the time of placement. The Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between the above variables and OPD. A predictive formula was established for OPD in the placement of PICC via the GSV in preterm infants, and the predicted residual between the predicted depth and the ideal OPD was compared between the conventional predictive formula and the new predictive formula.

Results: The Pearson correlation analysis showed that PICC OPD was significantly positively correlated with BW, body length, the length of the upper and lower parts of the body, head circumference, and abdominal circumference in both the GSV-KJ placement group and GSV-AJ placement group (P<0.05), with the highest degree of correlation between OPD and BW. The univariate linear regression analysis showed a linear relationship between PICC OPD and BW in both groups. The predictive formulas for OPD were as follows: GSV-KJ PICC OPD (cm) = 13.1 + 2.7 × BW (kg) and GSV-AJ PICC OPD (cm) = 13.4 + 6.0 × BW (kg), and the new predictive formulas had a significantly lower predicted residual than the conventional predictive formula (P<0.05).

Conclusions: OPD for PICC through the GSV is positively correlated with BW, and the prediction results of the new predictive formula based on BW are closer to the ideal OPD.