Usefulness of Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheters for Cancer Patients in Palliative Care Settings

: Peripherally inserted central venous catheters(PICCs)are widely used given they have lower incidence of serious complications than central venous catheters. We evaluated the safety and usefulness of ultrasound-guided PICC placement for cancer patients in palliative care settings. We attempted to insert PICCs in 42 patients, and the insertion was successful in 40 (95.2%)patients. Complications occurred in 9(22.5%)patients, but none were severe. In 30 cases, PICCs were used for infusion and drug delivery until cancer death. The duration of catheterization was 25(1-126)days. Our results suggest that ultrasound-guided PICC represents a safe and usefultoolfor cancer patients in palliative care settings.