Central venous catheter complications in 447 patients on home parenteral nutrition: an analysis of over 100.000 catheter days.

RATIONALE: The purpose of this study is to report the frequency of central venous catheter (CVC) complications and to analyze the potential risk factors for complications requiring CVC removal in home parenteral nutrition (HPN) patients. METHODS: A questionnaire developed by the ESPEN HAN WORKING GROUP was distributed to 12 European centers to investigate the complications occurring during the period between January 1995 and December 2000 when HPN patients used their first CVC. The questionnaire collected informations related to the Home Parenteral Nutrition technique and the underlying disease. Factors affecting the time of CVC removal were jointly investigated using Cox's multivariable regression models. RESULTS: The study was performed on 447 patients for a total of 110869 CVC-days. Complications occurred in about 1/4 of patients, approximately half were infections and about half required Central Venous Catheter removal. The Cox analysis showed that using the CVC 7 times/week and implanted ports were associated with a hazard ratio of 3 and 2.8, respectively. A reduced risk of removal (of about 40%) was associated with using CVC also for non-nutritional purposes (P = 0.0016). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limits of this retrospective investigation, the type of CVC, the type of administration of HPN and the type of training are important factors associated with occurrence of complications or with CVC removal. However, in our opinion, proper care of the CVC, of preparation and administration of the nutritive admixture seem to be paramount for a safe management of HPN.

Total versus subtotal gastrectomy: surgical morbidity and mortality rates in a multicenter Italian randomized trial. The Italian Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze postoperative morbidity and mortality of patients included in a randomized trial comparing total versus subtotal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: There is controversy as to whether the optimal surgery for gastric cancer in the distal half of the stomach is subtotal or total gastrectomy. Although only a randomized trial can resolve this oncologic dilemma, the first step is to demonstrate whether the two procedures are penalized by different postoperative morbidity and mortality rates. METHODS: A total of 624 patients with cancer in the distal half of the stomach were randomized to subtotal gastrectomy (320) or total gastrectomy (304), both associated with a second-level lymphadenectomy, in a multicenter trial aimed at assessing the oncologic outcome after the two procedures. The end points considered were the occurrence of a postoperative event, complication, or death and length of postoperative stay. RESULTS: Nonfatal complications and death occurred in 9% and 1% of subtotal gastrectomy patients and in 13% and 2% of total gastrectomy patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis of postoperative events showed that splenectomy or resection of adjacent organs was associated with a twofold risk of postoperative complications. Random surgery and extension of surgery influenced the length of stay. The mean length of stay, adjusted for extension of surgery, was 13.8 days for subtotal gastrectomy and 15.4 days for total gastrectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that subtotal and total gastrectomies, with second-level lymphadenectomy, performed as an elective procedure have a similar postoperative complication rate and surgical outcome. A conclusive long-term evaluation of the two operations and an accurate estimate of the oncologic impact of surgery on long-term survival, not penalized by excess surgical risk of one of the two operations, are consequently feasible.