The Role of a Single Dose of Vancomycin in Reducing Clinical Sepsis in Premature Infants Prior to Removal of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter: A Retrospective Study

Objective Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line removal is associated with bloodstream infections and clinical sepsis. We aim to investigate the role of a single prophylactic dose of vancomycin in decreasing the incidence of central line associated bloodstream infection associated with PICC removal. Methods A retrospective chart review of patients in the neonatal intensive care unit was conducted. Patients were divided into two study groups based on whether a single dose of vancomycin was administered (exposed) or not (nonexposed). The primary outcome measured was clinical sepsis with or without positive blood culture. Results The incidence of clinical sepsis in the exposed group was 7.3% compared with 6.3% in the nonexposed group (p -value: 0.7860). The incidence of culture-positive sepsis in the exposed group was 2.2% compared with 1.6% in the nonexposed group (p -value: 0.7673). The overall incidence of clinical and culture-positive sepsis in the subgroup with infants weighing <1,500 g and <32 weeks' gestational age was similar to the main study group. Conclusion Our data do not support routine vancomycin prophylaxis prior to PICC line removal in premature infants to prevent sepsis associated with PICC removal. However, a large randomized controlled trial is further needed to delineate these results.