Midline catheter use in the neonatal intensive care unit
Abstract:
Objective: Analyze the usefulness of the midline catheter in terms of efficacy and safety for treatments lasting more than 3 days in the neonatal population requiring admission to the NICU.
Design: Analytical and observational of a prospective cohort (December 2021-November 2023) compared to a historical cohort (January 2020-November 2021).
Setting: 9-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU, level III hospital.
Patients or participants: 288, 66 midline group and 222 control group.
Inclusion criteria: newborns from 24 to 42 weeks of gestation who required short peripheral or midline cannulation and treatment longer than 3 days.
Interventions: Follow-up during NICU stay and comparison with retrospective data from a historical cohort.
Main variables of interest: Sociodemographics, success rate (permanence of the same vascular catheter without complications until finish the prescribed treatment), number of catheters, cannulation rate per patient, indwell time, complications.
Results: The midline group showed a higher success rate (54.2% vs 5.6%, p < 0.001), a lower number of canalizations per patient (p < 0.001), a longer indwell time (p < 0.001) and a lower number of extravasations (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: The midline catheter has advantages over short peripheral catheters, being a useful alternative in terms of efficacy and safety for treatments lasting more than 3 days in the neonatal population that requires admission to the NICU.
Reference:
Sánchez García AT, Lozano González J, Canals Candela FJ. Evaluation of vascular accesses in the neonatal intensive care unit. Is the midline catheter a useful long-term alternative? Med Intensiva (Engl Ed). 2024 Jun 26:S2173-5727(24)00166-8. doi: 10.1016/j.medine.2024.05.016. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38937197.