Clinical occurrence of subclavian venous thrombosis due to indwelling catheters is rare, but there is some evidence that subclinical thrombosis frequently occurs. It is purpose of this study to report the results of a prospective investigation in patients with subclavian vein catheters. Fifty-two patients admitted to the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan and candidate to infraclavicular percutaneous catheterization of the subclavian vein were evaluated. There were 26 polyvinyl chloride and 26 rubber silicone catheters, which were correctly positioned in the superior vena cava-atrium. Average duration of the intravenous stay was 12.8 days. Asymptomatic thrombosis was venographically demonstrated in 46.1% of the polyvinyl chloride catheters and in 11.5% of the silicone ones (p = 0.005). The average age of catheters with or without thrombosis was 10.8 and 13.8 days, respectively. Addition of heparin to the infusate (1 U/ml) did not reduce the thrombosis rate in polyvinyl chloride or in silicone catheters, but risk of thrombosis was significantly higher (p = 0.03) in polyvinyl chloride catheters without heparin in comparison to the silicone ones. Osmolarity of the infusional fluid, manipulation during the cannulation, colonization of the catheter tip, and duration of the intravenous stay of the catheter apparently did not influence the rate of thrombosis. Since the natural history of the thrombotic subclavian veins is not known, some caution must be paid to repeat the percutaneous cannulation of the same vein and the change the catheter over a guidewire.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

"Nutritional" markers as prognostic indicators of postoperative sepsis in cancer patients.

A study was undertaken to identify the nutritional parameters associated with a high risk of postoperative sepsis. The nutritional status of 162 cancer patients subjected to clean or clean-contaminated elective surgery was preoperatively evaluated according to the following parameters: percentage weight loss, arm circumference, triceps skinfold, arm muscle circumference, creatinine-height index, total serum protein, serum albumin, total iron-binding capacity, cholinesterase, peripheral lymphocytes, complement C3-C4 components, and skin tests. Patients were followed postoperatively according to a precise protocol to classify them as infected or noninfected. Postoperative sepsis was present in 40 patients who had significantly different mean values for four nutritional parameters from those of 114 patients with no complications, ie, total serum protein, 6.60 vs 6.99 g/dl, p = 0.008; serum albumin, 3.39 vs 3.66 g/dl, p = 0.001; total iron-binding capacity 301.32 vs 337.17 mmg/dl, p = 0.006; and cholinesterase, 2389.77 vs 2770.10 mU/ml, p = 0.005. Moreover, the relative risk and the attributable risk for these variables were evaluated and the significance was tested by the chi 2 test. By using multiple logistic analysis it appeared that only total serum protein and total iron-binding capacity gave an independent contribution to the risk of postoperative sepsis, while serum albumin disappeared and cholinesterase became non significant when the contribution of the first two variables was accounted for. It was also possible to identify, in a small number of patients, combinations of two variables that were associated with a very high risk of postoperative sepsis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗