Conservative management may be safe for retained central venous catheter fragments in children
Published on 24 September 2026
Dr Alessandro Crocoli speaks to ecancer about a 15-year retrospective study examining difficult central venous catheter removal in children.
He reports that difficult removal was rare, occurring in less than 1% of more than 3,000 procedures, and was particularly associated with prolonged catheter dwell times and chronic disease.
Dr Crocoli explains that almost half of the difficult cases resulted in a retained catheter fragment, with affected patients managed conservatively without subsequent late complications.
He highlights a shift from aggressive attempts at complete extraction towards a more conservative approach, suggesting that leaving retained intravascular fragments in place may be a safe option for selected asymptomatic patients when standard catheter removal fails.