Abstract: Objective: To investigate the relationship between position and indwelling time of PICC catheter tip and complications in extremely/very low birth weight infants. Methods: By convenience sampling, extremely/very low birth weight infants with successful PICC catheterization in neonatology department of a tertiary hospital in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province were selected from March 2019 to August 2021. The PICC indwelling time, complication rate and catheter secondary displacement of PICC in different limbs and tip positions were analyzed. Results: The indwelling time of PICC in lower extremity, T5-T6 group and T8-T9 group was significantly longer than that in upper extremity, T4-T5 group and T9-T10 group, respectively (P<0.01). The complication rate in T8-T9 group was significantly lower than that in T9-T10 group, and there was no significant difference among the other groups. The time point of secondary displacement and the rates of PICC catheter at different tip positions were different (P<0.05). Conclusion: Lower limbs PICC is recommended as the first choice for extremely/very low birth weight infants. The prevention way of PICC complications with different tip positions is different. The possible secondary displacement time can be predicted according to the first X-ray tip positioning, and timely positioning and tracking were suggested to do early detection and treatment.

Key words: PICC; catheter tip position; indwelling time; complication; extremely low birth weight infants; very low birth weight infants