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Introduction. Between the early complications more frequently associated to the insertion of central venous catheters we have pneumothorax, vascular lesion, hemothorax and catheter malposition. In our country and institution we do not have statistics about the insertion or complications related to central venous catheters.
Objective. To measure the frequency of early complications associated to the insertion of central venous catheters.
Methods. After the approval of our protocol by the Ethics and Investigation Committee of our hospital, and having informed every department, the authors of this study collected information about the insertion of central venous catheters in our hospital by doing daily rounds including weekends and holidays. The information was extracted from the patient’s charts and from the physical exam.
Results. A total of 404 central venous catheters were inserted in the time elapsed, with an insertion rate of 101 central venous catheters per month. The most frequent indication for central venous catheters is to administer intravenous drugs (53 %), followed by resuscitation with intravenous fluids (11%). The early complications we found were vascular injury on a 7,8 % (hematoma 4,4 % and arterial puncture 3,4 %), pneumothorax (2,8 %) and catheter malposition (2,8 %). All of inserted central venous catheter, 10% had failed first attempt of insertion. After each additional attempt the complication frequency increased on a 20 %. The subclavian approach is more frequently used (62 %), followed by jugular approach on a 32 % of the cases, and the femoral approach for the remaining 6 %.
Conclusion. In our institution, 3,4 central venous catheter are inserted every day. The amount of early complications associated to central venous catheter is acceptable and similar to that reported in other parts of the world.
