Objectives: to estimate incidence and free time of peripherally inserted central catheter obstruction in newborns undergoing red blood cell transfusion in the first 24 hours after the procedure.

Methods: a longitudinal study, carried out with neonates in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a teaching hospital in Paraná, between January and July 2019. The sample consisted of 46 transfusion events performed in neonates through a peripherally inserted central catheter. Analysis performed according to descriptive statistics.

Results: thirty-one catheters were analyzed, inserted in 24 neonates, through which 46 red blood cell transfusions were performed. Most neonates were male, gestational age <32 weeks, weight <1,500 grams, hospitalized mainly for prematurity. Among the 31 catheters, one (3.2%) presented obstruction after transfusion.

Conclusions: The occurrence of obstructions immediately after transfusion was low and the catheters remained complication free for the next 24 hours.

Cunha MGB, Danski MTR, Giacomozzi CM, Tomazoni A, Kussahara DM. Peripherally inserted central catheter obstruction in packed red blood cell transfusions in neonates. Rev Bras Enferm. 2022 Sep 23;75(4):e20210967. English, Portuguese. doi: 10.1590/0034-7167-2021-0967. PMID: 36169557.