Initial Experience with Central Venous Line Insertion in a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Central venous catheterization is an uncommon procedure in most hospitals in the West African subregion. This article presents our initial experience with central line insertion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Catheter sizes ranged from 5 fr for children and 7 fr for adult for intravenous therapy, while size 7 fr polyurethane catheters were used for children requiring hemodialysis and sizes 12–14 fr silicone catheters for adolescents and adults requiring hemodialysis'. Data were collected prospectively using a structured pro forma over a 2-year period (June 2010–May 2012) and analyzed with SPSS 15. RESULTS: A total of 77 lines were inserted four as tunneled lines and 73 as nontunneled lines. Forty-seven (61.0%) patients were male, 30 (39.0%) were female, with age range of 1–80 years. The success rate was 97.4%. The overall complication rate was 16.9%. CONCLUSION: Our initial experience with the use of central venous lines, was marked by a high success rate, few manageable complications and no mortality over the study period. Majority of insertions were done by the bedside under local anesthesia lending credence to the assertion that it is a relatively safe procedure that can be done by any adequately trained doctor and should, therefore, be encouraged in our hospitals.