TABLE I.
Characteristics of the Study Population (172 Patients)
| Characteristic | N (%) |
|---|---|
| Age at therapy initiation | |
| Median | 4 years |
| Range | 4 days–16 years |
| Sex | |
| Male | 97 (56%) |
| Female | 75 (44%) |
| Body mass index | |
| Median | 16 |
| Range | 10–33 |
| Febrile during the 24 hours prior to CVC placement | |
| No | 126 (73.3%) |
| Yes | 46 (26.7%) |
| Positive cultures prior to CVC placement | |
| No | 166 (96.5%) |
| Yes | 6 (3.5%) |
| Presence of previous non-permanent CVC | |
| No | 165 (95.9%) |
| Yes | 7 (4.1%) |
| Day of treatment at the time of CVC placement | |
| Median | 0 |
| Range | −1 to 5 |
| Type of catheter | |
| Double lumen tunneled catheter | 7 (4.1%) |
| Single lumen tunneled catheter | 132 (76.7%) |
| Infusaport | 33 (19.2%) |
| White blood count at placement | |
| Median | 5,800/mm3 |
| Range | 184–314,500/mm3 |
| Absolute neutrophil count at placement | |
| Median | 600/mm3 |
| Range | 0–40,888/mm3 |
| <500/mm3 | 102 (59.3%) |
| >500/mm3 | 70 (40.7%) |
| Platelet count at placement | |
| Median | 110,000/μl |
| Range | 43,000–447,000/μl |
| Hemoglobin at placement (posttransfusion) | |
| Median | 9.1 g/dl |
| Range | 6.2–14.6 g/dl |
CVC, central venous catheter.