Comparison of complications and indwelling time in midline catheters versus central venous catheters: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

BackgroundCentral venous catheters and midline catheters are commonly used as medium‐ to long‐term intravenous infusion tools in clinical nursing. However, there is currently no reliable conclusion on whether there are differences in complications and indwelling time between these two types of catheters.AimTo investigate whether there are differences in the incidence of complications and indwelling time between the use of midline catheters and central venous catheters as intravenous infusion tools.MethodsA systematic search was conducted across various databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Wanfang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. The selection of studies and assessment of their quality was carried out independently by two reviewers. Meta‐analysis was conducted using the RevMan 5.3 software. Heterogeneity was evaluated, one of the pooled analyses was performed using the random‐effect model, while the others used the fixed‐effect model. Mean differences or odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated.ResultsTen studies (1,554 participants) met the inclusion criteria. Meta‐analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the complication rates [OR = 0.36, 95% CI (0.18, 0.70), p = 0.003], incidence of catheter‐related thrombosis [OR = 0.28, 95% CI (0.11, 0.71), I2 = 0%,p = 0.007], catheter‐related infection[OR = 0.36, 95% CI (0.16, 0.78), I2 = 27%, p = 0.007] and catheter blockage [OR = 0.21, 95% CI (0.09, 0.51), I2 = 18%, p = 0.0005] between midline catheters group and central venous catheters group. There was a statistically significant difference in the catheter indwelling time between the two groups [MD = 0.9, 95% CI (0.33, 1.46), I2 = 0%, p = 0.002]. There was no significant difference in other complications such as phlebitis, catheter dislodgement and leakage between the two groups.Linking Evidence to ActionMidline catheter was superior to central venous catheter in terms of the overall complication rates and incidence of catheter‐related thrombosis, catheter blockage, catheter‐related infection and indwelling time.