Radiologic insertion of Hickman catheters in HIV-positive patients: infectious complications.

Ninety-six patients undergoing radiologically guided placement of 104 Hickman catheters were grouped according to their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serologic status. Infectious complications were categorized according to their severity (local or systemic) and time of occurrence (periprocedural or late). The number of infectious complications per 100 indwelling catheter days was calculated. Among the 14 catheter placements in 13 HIV-positive patients, two systemic infections occurred, resulting in a 14% overall infection rate and 0.18 infectious complications per 100 indwelling catheter days. The remaining 83 HIV-negative patients underwent 90 Hickman catheter placements. Nine infectious complications (10%) were noted in the 90 catheters, translating into 0.19 infectious complications per 100 indwelling catheters days. These results suggest no significant (relative risk [RR] of 1.4 and .95) difference in infectious complication rates encountered in HIV-positive patients compared with the general population. This supports the clinical usefulness of Hickman catheter placement in HIV-positive patients, although many additional HIV-positive patients must be evaluated to achieve an acceptable level of statistical confidence.