Skip to main content

Risk for Device Failure Similar With Different PICC Materials

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 10, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 9, 2025 -- For patients referred for peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs), the risk for device failure is not lower with hydrophobic or chlorhexidine PICCs versus standard polyurethane ones, according to a study published in the Jan. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Amanda J. Ullman, Ph.D., from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues conducted a randomized, controlled, superiority trial in three tertiary hospitals involving adults and children who were referred for PICC placement. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a hydrophobic or chlorhexidine PICC or a standard polyurethane PICC (365, 365, and 368, respectively) and were followed for eight weeks.

The researchers found that device failure occurred in 5.9, 9.9, and 6.1 percent of participants in the hydrophobic, chlorhexidine, and standard polyurethane groups, respectively (risk difference: hydrophobic versus standard polyurethane, −0.2 percentage points [95 percent confidence interval, −3.7 to 3.2; P = 0.89]; chlorhexidine versus standard polyurethane, 3.8 percentage points [95 percent confidence interval, −0.1 to 7.8; P = 0.06]). The odds ratio for device failure was 0.96 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.51 to 1.78) and 1.71 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.98 to 2.99) in the hydrophobic versus the standard-polyurethane group and in the chlorhexidine versus the standard-polyurethane group, respectively. Complications from any cause during the period of PICC placement occurred in 21.5, 38.6, and 21.7 percent in the hydrophobic, chlorhexidine, and standard-polyurethane groups, respectively.

"The current findings reflect the complexity in preventing multifactorial PICC dysfunction, with no apparent difference in the incidence of device failure or of catheter-acquired bloodstream infection according to PICC type," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.