• F Kamala, N Y Boo, F C Cheah, and K Birinder.
• Department of Paediatrics, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Acta Paediatr. 2002 Jan 1; 91 (12): 1350-6.

AimTo determine whether the addition of heparin to total parenteral nutrition (TPN) fluid would prevent blockage of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in neonates.MethodsThis was a randomized, double-blind, controlled study of 66 eligible neonates with PICCs inserted for the administration of TPN. Infants were randomized to receive TPN containing either 1 IU ml(-1) of heparin (n = 35) or no heparin (n = 31).ResultsThere was no significant difference in the incidence of blocked catheters between the two groups of infants (heparin: 14.3%; no-heparin: 22.6%, p = 0.4). Although a higher percentage (62.9%) of infants in the heparin group received a complete course of TPN successfully via PICC than those in the no-heparin group (48.4%), the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.3). There were no significant differences in the incidence of catheter-related sepsis, hypertriglyceridaemia, hyperbilirubinaemia, coagulopathy or intraventricular haemorrhage between the two groups.ConclusionAddition of heparin to TPN fluid was not associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of blocked PICCs. However, the sample size of this study was too small to exclude even rather marked differences between the groups.

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