Is Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter–Related Thrombosis Associated With ABO Blood Group? A Case–Control Pilot Study

Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) use is associated with many complications including line-related thrombosis. Several studies and meta-analyses confirmed the increased risk to develop venous thromboembolism in non-O blood group individuals. Our pilot study aimed to examine whether PICC-related thrombosis is influenced by ABO blood group. We identified patients admitted to Hurley Medical Center between March 2012 and March 2016 who had PICC placed during their admission, had their ABO blood group identified in their medical record, and had upper extremity venous Doppler ultrasound performed on the same side of PICC. We excluded pregnant women, patients on anticoagulation initiated before PICC insertion, and patients with active cancer. Data of 227 patients who met our criteria were analyzed. Of these patients, 140 (61.7%) patients had PICC-related thrombosis (cases) and 86 (37.9%) patients had O blood group. Controls were patients who had PICC and did not develop PICC-related thrombosis. Multivariate logistic regression revealed no association between PICC-related thrombosis and ABO blood group (adjusted odds ratio: 1.1; 95% confidence interval: 0.6-2.0; P = .733). Therefore, our data suggest that non-O blood group does not increase the odds of having PICC-related thrombosis.