Incidence of complications following umbilical vein catheterisation in neonates

Background: Umbilical vein catheter (UVC) insertion in newborns has life threatening complications like Catheter related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and other mild complications. This study has been done to assess the incidence and risk factors of complications in neonates with umbilical vein catheterisation.Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in neonates admitted to a South Indian tertiary care hospital between January 2017- June 2018.Results: Umbilical vein catheterisation was done for 65 neonates, of them 46 completed the study. One neonate (2%) developed CRBSI and none of them developed PVT in both baseline and follow up scans. Minor complications noted were repositioning in 26%, umbilical site leak in 23%, reattempts in 19%, catheter block in 13%, periumbilical erythema in 6% and umbilical site bleed in 2%. There was no statistical significance between minor complications and baseline study characteristics.Conclusions: Although UVC is a common and easy vascular access, it is not without complications. Incidence of serious complications following umbilical vein catheterisation is low when proper technique and sterile precautions are followed. However, the occurrence of mild complications following UVC insertion is high.