Peripheral insertion of reverse-tapered and non-tapered central catheters (PICC) in patients receiving tumor chemotherapy

Objective: The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of the reverse-tapered peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and the nontapered PICC in tumor chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Retrospective January to May 2019, 110 subjects were collected in the study, including a group of 49 patients with the reverse-tapered PICC catheters. In the other group, 61 patients were implanted with the nontapered PICC catheters. The incidence of PICC catheter-related symptomatic thrombosis, the difficulty degree of catheterization, and the rate of bleeding at the puncture point 24 h after catheterization were compared between two groups. Results: The comparison of the difficulty of catheterization and the permeability rate at puncture point 24 h after catheterization between the two groups showed statistically significant differences (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of symptomatic thrombosis associated with PICC catheters between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The reverse-tapered PICC and the nontapered PICC catheters have similar safety performance in tumor chemotherapy; different design types of PICC were selected according to the treatment needs of patients.