P43 | Intracavitary ECG versus thorax radiography: biennial retrospective analysis (2022-2023) on 100 patients

Premises and Purpose of the study: Recently, intracavitary electrocardiogram technology has been applied to peripherally inserted central catheter placement (PICC) and demonstrates many potential advantages. However, the tip positioning accuracy of intracavitary electrocardiogram technology compared to conventional X-ray method is unknown. The authors present a retrospective analysis that enrolled 100 patients aged between 68 and 94 years during the two-year period 2022-2023. A PICC was implanted in all patients, the correct positioning of which is verified with chest X-ray and intracavitary ECG. It has been verified that there are no statistically significant differences between the two methods, with null hypothesis (chi-squared=0).Materials and Methods: The verification of the correct positioning of the PICC takes place through radiographic control of the chest and intracavitary ECG. To verify the effectiveness of the two methods, the chi-squared test with a 2x2 contingency table is applied.Results: The chi-square test applied to the 100 enrolled patients demonstrated that there are no statistically significant differences in the control of PICC positioning through chest radiography and intracavitary ECG. Discussion: PICC placement by IC-ECG guidance is plausible, safe, presents adequate indexes of validity and reliability, and allows reducing the time of catheter placement. Conclusions: The authors demonstrated that in checking the correct positioning of a PICC, the two methods used in 100 patients are equivalent (null hypothesis: chi squared=0).