Bedside placement of tunneled femorally inserted central catheters in pediatric patients on extracorporeal life support: A case series and discussion.

Background: Pediatric patients requiring extracorporeal life support (ECLS) often need central venous access for extended periods of time. In this population, the placement of an upper extremity peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) can be challenging due to the location and size of the venous ECLS cannula. Bedside placement of a tunneled femorally inserted central catheters (T-FICC) can be a viable alternative to a traditional PICC.

Methods: In this case series we present five children who were on ECLS and had a T-FICC placed at the bedside.

Results: In this series of five patients we successfully placed T-FICCs while the patients were on ECLS. The T-FICCs dwelled from 15 to 182 days. There were no events of central line associated blood stream infections or deep vein thrombosis. There was only one unintentional line dislodgement noted.

Conclusion: The use of T-FICCs placed at the bedside is a safe and reliable alternative for secure long-term venous access in children who are on ECLS.