IS PICC LINE RELATED THROMBOEMBOLISM ASSOCIATED WITH ABO BLOOD GROUP? RESULTS OF CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Background: Peripherally inserted peripheral catheter (PICC) use is associated with many complications including line related thromboembolism. Several studies and meta- analyses confirmed the increased risk to develop venous thromboembolism in non-O blood group patients. We wanted to assess the association between PICC line related thromboembolism and the ABO blood group.

Methods: Our study sample consisted of 227 patients, 18-65 years old. First, we identified patients who had PICC line inserted between March 2012 and March 2016 and had their ABO blood group identified in their medical record. Then, we analyzed patients who had Venous Doppler ultrasound performed on the same side of PICC line. We manually reviewed the results of the Venous Doppler ultrasound to classify the patients into cases and controls. Cases were defined as patients who had ultrasound confirmed line related thromboembolism (superficial, deep or both), while controls were patients who had PICC line and did not develop thromboembolism. We excluded patients on anticoagulation initiated before PICC line insertion. After classifying cases and controls, their ABO blood group was classifiedinto O and non-O blood groups. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using logistic regression.

Results: A total of 140 out of 227 patients (61.67%) had PICC line related thromboembolism. The study sample mean age was 57.3±18.5 years old, and 36.12% were males. The distribution of blood groups was 86 (37.89%) with O blood group, 85 (37.44%) with A, 44 (19.38%) with B, and 12 (5.29%) with AB blood group. Multivariate logistic regression revealed no association between PICC line related thromboembolism and ABO blood group (adjusted OR: 1.17;95% CI 0.67 – 2.03, p = 0.57) between cases and controls.

Conclusions: These data show that patients with non-O blood group have no increased risk for PICC line related thromboembolism. However, our study was limitedby a low number of patients who had PICC line. Our findings must be replicated by a larger study to assess any association between PICC line thromboembolism and ABO blood group.