Paediatric CVAD Research: Where the Evidence Is Strong and Where Gaps Remain

Posted on 18 August 2026

Study Overview

Central venous access devices are essential in paediatric care, supporting treatments such as chemotherapy, parenteral nutrition, and long-term intravenous therapy. However, complications including infection, thrombosis, occlusion, and device failure remain common.

This evidence and gap map reviewed global research on interventions designed to improve paediatric CVAD outcomes. The study identified 151 paediatric-specific studies published between 2014 and 2024 and mapped them by setting, device type, intervention, study design, and outcome.

Key Findings

Most research was conducted in high-income countries and concentrated in critical care and oncology settings.
Infection prevention, insertion technologies, and flushing and locking practices received the greatest research attention.
Bloodstream infection was the most commonly reported outcome, while patient experience, family burden, cost, and implementation outcomes were rarely measured.
CVAD type was frequently unclear or not reported, making it harder to compare studies and apply findings to specific devices.
Maintenance, device removal, patient comfort, and care outside major hospitals remain under-studied.
Although randomised trials were identified, many studies used lower-quality before-and-after designs without control groups.

Implications

The study shows that paediatric CVAD research is growing, but important parts of the device lifecycle remain poorly supported by evidence.

Future research should extend beyond infection and insertion to include device selection, maintenance, timely removal, patient and family experiences, and economic outcomes. More studies are also needed in community care, general paediatrics, emergency departments, regional services, and lower-resource settings.

Clearer reporting of device type, patient age, and clinical setting will also make future findings easier to compare and translate into practice.

Read more:https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.70391

Authors: Tricia M. Kleidon; Sabrina de Souza; Patrícia Kuerten Rocha; Elouise Comber; Jacqueline Cunninghame; Areum Hyun; Jefferson Wildes da Silva Moura; Amanda J. Ullman; Mari Takashima

Paediatric CVAD Research: Where the Evidence Is Strong and Where Gaps Remain

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