Ten‐Year Survival of a Broviac Catheter

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Abstract
We report a patient with regional enteritis and short bowel syndrome who has been treated with home parenteral nutrition for 19 years, during 10 of which he used a single Broviac central venous catheter. The catheter finally required replacement because of progressive lumen occlusion, which was presumed to be caused by thrombosis. At the time of replacement, the catheter was found to be friable and embedded in a hard sheath that made it adherent to the wall of the internal jugular vein and prevented complete removal. At some time during the ensuing 16 months, the retained fragment embolized asymptomatically to the pulmonary artery. During the first 2 months after the placement of a new Hickman catheter, progressive flow resistance developed, probably because of calcium phosphate precipitation, although no change had been made in the parenteral formulation. It resolved immediately upon the instillation of hydrochloric acid into the catheter.