ABSTRACT
Objective: to analyse the time of permanence andmain causes for removal of midline (20 cm) and mini-midline (10 cm) catheters in hospitalized patients, and to study the differences in patients with COVID-19. Method: a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study conducted with data from clinical records in the Hospital Universitario Vall d´Hebron (Barcelona, Spain). The study includedcatheters insertedby the Infusion andVascular Access Nursing (IVAN) Team in patients hospitalized during 2020. Results: the study included 357 catheters in 305 patients (28.9% with COVID-19). The latter presented a higher rate of obesity (21.6% vs. 9.2%;p= 0.003). The median duration of catheters inserted was 11-12 days, without any difference by type of catheter or having COVID-19 (p= 0.88). The main cause for removal in both groups was the end of the treatment, and it was higher in patients without COVID-19 (65.7% vs. 53.1%;p= 0.031), followedby exitus in patients withCOVID-19 (22.9% vs. 8.9%;p= 0.001), and catheter occlusion in the rest (17.3% vs. 8.33%;p= 0.035). There were n= 4 cases of catheter infection and n= 31 suspected cases, without difference by diagnosis or type of catheter. There was no variation in the cause for removal according to the venous access selected. Conclusions: there are no differences in terms of duration of catheters according to their length, vein of insertion or COVID-19 diagnosis. Ultrasound-guided venipuncture, sterile technique and selection of type of catheter by a member of the IVAN team seem to reduce the complications associated. © 2022 DAE Editorial, Grupo Paradigma. All rights reserved.