A new simple technique for the insertion of cuffed central venous catheters: An initial experience

Background: Although tunneled polyurethane catheters with polyester cuffs a re useful when prolonged central venous access is necessary but their inser tion still remains challenging at times. We report the first study of a new cuffed polyurethane catheter (Seldicuff) that can be easily inserted using the Seldinger technique without the need of a vein dilator and that incorp orates a tunneling needle onto the catheter. A Seldicuff catheter was place d in 15 patients (mean age: 53 +/- 11 years) who required prolonged parente ral nutrition. All catheters were inserted into the right subclavian vein. The procedure lasted 6.4 +/- 0.8 minutes and no complication directly relat ed to catheter placement was noted. Catheters remained in position for a me an duration of 103 days (range, 58 to 220 days). During this period, no inf ectious or mechanical complications were observed. Conclusion: These result s demonstrate that placement of this novel cuffed catheter is as simple as inserting a conventional central venous catheter.