Translumbar inferior vena cava catheters.

Translumbar inferior vena cava catheters are a safe method of providing venous access for the collection of peripheral blood stem cells for transplantation. One of the most frequent and consistent problems with these catheters is thrombotic obstruction, occurring in one-fourth of the cases. Aspirin at a dose of 325 mg daily beginning after catheter placement and continuing until completion of stem cell collection has been associated with a reduction in the frequency of catheter thrombosis from 12/60 (20%) to 1/31 (3.2%) (p = 0.007) and an increase in the number of thrombus-free apheresis procedures (p = 0.024) compared to historical controls. No adverse effects of aspirin during stem cell collection have been noted. Daily aspirin ingestion should be considered in patients undergoing peripheral stem cell collection via translumbar inferior vena cava catheters.