Central Venous Catheter Consideration in Pediatric Oncology: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis From the American Pediatric Surgical Association Cancer Committee

Background Tunneled central venous catheters (CVCs) are the cornerstone of modern oncologic practice. Establishing best practices for catheter management in children with cancer is essential to optimize care, but few guidelines exist to guide placement and management. Objectives: To address four questions: 1) Does catheter composition influence the incidence of complications; 2) Is there a platelet count below which catheter placement poses an increased risk of complications; 3) Is there an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) below which catheter placement poses an increased risk of complications; and 4) Are there best practices for the management of a central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)? Methods Data Sources: English language articles in Ovid Medline, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Databases. Study Selection: Independently performed by 2 reviewers, disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Data Extraction: Performed by 4 reviewers on forms designed by consensus, quality assessed by GRADE methodology. Results Data were extracted from 110 manuscripts. There was no significant difference in fracture rate, venous thrombosis, catheter occlusion or infection by catheter composition. Thrombocytopenia with minimum thresholds of 30,000-50,000 platelets/mcl was not associated with major hematoma. Limited evidence suggests a platelet count <30,000/mcL was associated with small increased risk of hematoma. While few studies found a significant increase in CLABSI in CVCs placed in neutropenic patients with ANC<500Kcells/dl, meta-analysis suggests a small increase in this population. Catheter removal remains recommended in complicated or persistent infections. Limited evidence supports antibiotic, ethanol, or hydrochloric lock therapy in definitive catheter salvage. No high-quality data were available to answer any of the proposed questions. Conclusions Although over 15,000 tunneled catheters are placed annually in North America into children with cancer, there is a paucity of evidence to guide practice, suggesting multiple opportunities to improve care. Level of Evidence III.