Prevention of central venous catheter occlusion by saline with or without heparin in intensive care unit after surgical intervention: a double-blind, randomized trial.

Heparinized saline is used to prevent catheter obstruction; however, it is associated with concerns regarding the incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and the accuracy of the blood test results. This study compared the impact of saline with and without heparin on central venous catheter occlusion rates in post-surgical intensive care unit patients using a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, controlled design. Patients aged 20-90 years planned to experience central venous catheter insertion and postoperative intensive care unit admission were enrolled and were randomly assigned to either the heparin group (administered normal saline with heparin) or the control group (administered normal saline alone), based on a 1:1 ratio. Nurses blinded to patient allocation performed the occlusion assessment (every 24 h). The Kaplan-Meier curve was used to assess the time to occlusion or removal of each catheter. Central venous catheter insertion results of 136 patients showed no significant variation in occlusion rates between the heparin and control groups within the first 3 days. There was no significant difference between normal saline with and without heparin in preventing central venous occlusion in the intensive care unit up to 3 days post-surgery. The results of this study suggest that it is not necessary to use normal saline with heparin in the management of central venous catheter occlusion, at least when moving from the operating room to the intensive care unit.