Background
Indwelling central venous lines (CVL) may develop biofilms and
microthrombi, protecting germs from antibiotics1. As a
result, patients with tunnelled CVL may develop blood stream infections
which at times are difficult to control without line removal,
particularly if neutropenic. Concomitant severe thrombocytopenia with
platelet transfusion refractoriness is often considered a hard
contraindication to any procedure involving a major blood vessel. There
is however very little literature on the actual clinical risks of
tunnelled central line removal in febrile pancytopenic patients not
responding to second line broad spectrum parenteral antibiotic therapy,
while the safety of USG-guided central line insertion in
thrombocytopenic patients is well established2–4.
We analysed complications and outcomes in all or patients, a total of
52, who underwent CVL removal with platelets <20,000/uL.