Assessing the association between necrotizing enterocolitis and the type of initial central venous access in preterm infants

Assil Abda; Eugene Yoon; Jaideep Kanungo; Cecil Ojah; Anie Lapointe; Prakesh S Shah; Marc Beltempo; Keith J Barrington; Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators

doi:10.1111/apa.17444

Assessing the association between necrotizing enterocolitis and the type of initial central venous access in preterm infants

Acta Paediatr. 2024 Oct 7. doi: 10.1111/apa.17444. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Assil Abda¹, Eugene Yoon², Jaideep Kanungo³, Cecil Ojah⁴, Anie Lapointe¹, Prakesh S Shah², Marc Beltempo⁵, Keith J Barrington^{1

6}; Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators

Collaborators

Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators:
Prakesh S Shah, Thevanisha Pillay, Jonathan Wong, Miroslav Stavel, Rebecca Sherlock, Ayman Abou Mehrem, Jennifer Toye, Joseph Ting, Carlos Fajardo, Andrei Harabor, Lannae Strueby, Mary Seshia, Deepak Louis, Chelsea Ruth, Ann Yi, Amit Mukerji, Orlando Da Silva, Sajit Augustine, Kyong-Soon Lee, Eugene Ng, Brigitte Lemyre, Brigitte Lemyre, Faiza Khurshid, Victoria Bizgu, Keith Barrington, Anie Lapointe, Guillaume Ethier, Christine Drolet, Martine Claveau, Marie St-Hilaire, Valerie Bertelle, Edith Masse, Caio Barbosa de Oliveira, Hala Makary, Gabriela de Carvalho Nunes, Wissam Alburaki, Jo-Anna Hudson, Jehier Afifi, Andrzej Kajetanowicz, Bruno Piedboeuf

Affiliations

¹ Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Ste-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
² Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Section of Newborn Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Cummins School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁴ Division of Neonatalogy, Department of Pediatrics, Saint John Regional Hospital, Dalhousie University, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
⁵ Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁶ CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

PMID: 39373134
DOI: 10.1111/apa.17444

Abstract

Aim: Umbilical venous catheters (UVC) have been associated with an increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). We aimed to assess the relationship between the type of initial central venous access in preterm infants and NEC.

Methods: Using the Canadian Neonatal Network database, we identified preterm infants <30 weeks gestation born between 2014 and 2021 in one of 32 participating centres who had a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) as initial vascular access. These infants were matched in a 1:1 ratio based on gestational age, sex and birth weight to infants in two other groups: (i) those who initially had an UVC and (ii) those who had an UVC followed by a PICC.

Results: A total of 497 infants were included in this study: 165 in the PICC group, 164 in the UVC group and 165 in the UVC + PICC group. There was no association between the type of initial central venous access and NEC.

Conclusion: Although this retrospective study did not find an association between the type of initial central venous access and NEC, larger prospective studies are required to evaluate this association.

Keywords: necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC); peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC); umbilical venous catheter (UVC); vascular access.

Grants and funding

PBN 150642/CAPMC/ CIHR/Canada