Blood Clot Risk Factors for Cancer Patients

A new study reveals that large catheters and small veins increase the blood clot risk for cancer patients y receiving chemotherapy intravenously through catheters.

Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy intravenously have double the risk of developing a blood clot or thrombosis if the vein is too small and the catheter occupies more than 45 per cent of the vein.

A new study led by the University of South Australia published in the British Medical Journal Open is the first to study about catheter-vein ratios (CVRs) in different patient groups to determine the blood clot risk depending on how much the catheter obstructs blood flow.

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‘Individualized catheter to vein ratio can reduce the blood clot risk in cancer patients.’

Both the cancer (especially leukaemia and other blood cancers) and chemotherapy used to treat it can increase blood clot risk, and the catheters used increase this risk even further if blood flow is restricted.

“Catheters are commonly used to infuse medications or liquid nutrition, but they come with risks, particularly if the catheter is too big for the vein. Previous research has shown they can impede blood flow by up to 80 per cent,” says,Dr Sharp, a UniSA vascular access device researcher who led the study.

Data from 2438 patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) were analyzed from four hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. Later, they identified 39 cases of thrombosis.

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Many clinicians use a CVR of less than 33 per cent, where the catheter occupies only one third of the vein. Others adhere to a 45 per cent limit.

However, there is a lack of evidence showing which CVRs are safe for individual patients. Some clinicians don’t measure veins at all.

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PICCs are commonly used because they are convenient, easy to insert and cheaper than other devices such as a port (a flexible tube placed into a vein in the chest), which is invasive and requires surgery. However, some researchers feel that PICCs are riskier.

We can reduce these PICCs related risks by recommending specific limits on catheter-to-vein ratios for individual patients.

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These results obtained from this study will help nurses and doctors to provide safe care and reduce harm for people with cancer.

Main limitation of this study is it did not find any increased risk of blood clots for non-cancer patients treated for infections via catheters.

Source-Medindia