Incidence of catheter-related complications among Japanese patients with central venous catheters as well as patients with short bowel syndrome

PURPOSE: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a serious rare disorder that is usually managed with parenteral nutrition. Central venous catheter (CVC)-related complications are known to occur, but their incidence rates (IRs) in Japan are unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of complications in Japanese patients with CVCs, including patients with SBS using CVCs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study in 64,817 patients with CVCs, including 81 patients with SBS, between April 2008 and October 2016 using a claims database in Japan was conducted. IRs of complications were calculated as total events divided by total catheter-days among all patients with CVCs and among patients with SBS. RESULTS: The majority (>90%) of patients in the CVC and SBS cohorts were ≥18 years old. Overall, IRs of any type of complication were numerically higher in patients with SBS compared with all patients with CVCs (2.68 vs 1.95 cases per 1,000 catheter-days, respectively). Among patients with SBS, septicemia, infection, and inflammatory reaction were the only complications observed. The complications with the highest incidence were catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) in both the overall CVC cohort and the SBS cohort with IRs of 1.35 and 2.68 cases per 1,000 catheter-days, respectively. The IR of any CVC-related complication was numerically higher in patients with SBS with cancer vs without cancer (3.44 vs 1.86 cases per 1,000 catheter-days, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study quantifies the incidence of complications in patients with CVCs, including those with SBS, in Japan.