PERCUTANEOUS TRANSLUMBAR CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETER IN INFANTS AND SMALLCHILDREN

Vascular occlusion is a common clinical problem in children dependent on prolonged vascular access. As an alternative to conventional centra l venous catheter placement we report our experience of four children receiving translumbar inferior vena cava catheter on 12 different occa sions. All catheter placements were successful. No procedure-related c omplications occurred. The median catheter patency was 4.8 months (ran ge 1-10 months). The translumbar route for central venous access is sa fe and reliable and should be considered when prolonged use is anticip ated in infants and small children.