Are cuffed peripherally inserted central catheters superior to uncuffed peripherally inserted central catheters? A retrospective review in a tertiary pediatric center.

Purpose: To assess the use of cuffed peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) compared with uncuffed PICCs in children with respect to their ability to provide access until the end of therapy.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of PICCs inserted between January 2007 and December 2008 was conducted. Data collected from electronic records included patient age, referring service, clinical diagnosis, inserting team (pediatric interventional radiologists or neonatal intensive care unit [NICU] nurse-led PICC team), insertion site, dates of insertion and removal, reasons for removal, and need for a new catheter insertion.