Abstract: Objective: To determine the treatment effectiveness and affecting factors for peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) associated upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT) in elderly patients. Methods: Two hundred of thirty-three patients diagnosed as PICC catheter-related upper extremity deep venous thrombosis in our hospital was enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into two groups depending on whether a thrombus recanalization was achieved or not. Data of patients, including general information, past history of diseases, catheter-related information, thrombosis-related information, whether remove the catheter and antithrombotic treatment were recorded and analyzed. Results: Among all the 126 patients with upper extremity deep vein thrombosis, the ratio of patients receiving catheter removal and antithrombotic treatment to those without these treatments was obviously higher in the group where a thrombus recanalization was achieved, compared with the group where a thrombus recanalization wasn't achieved. A higher fraction of patients underwent complete recanalization by catheter removal and antithrombotic treatment compared with the reference group. Conclusion: For patients with PICC-related upper extremity deep vein thrombosis, catheter removal and antithrombotic treatment were found to be more effective. For elderly patients diagnosed with PICC-related thrombosis, we suggest to keep the PICC for further treatment, as long as no infection occurs.

Key words: PICC, catheter associated thrombosis, antithrombotic treatment