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Fluid Dynamic and in Vitro Blood Study to Understand Catheter-Related Thrombosis

Palahnuk H, Su B, Harbaugh T, Gesenberg C, Zhou S, Rizk E, Bernstein J, Hazard SW et al.

Cardiovascular engineering and technology, 2025

4 citations

Abstract

Purpose: Central venous catheters (CVCs) provide a direct route to the venous circulation but are prone to catheter-related thrombosis (CRT). A known CRT risk factor is a high catheter-to-vein ratio (CVR), or a large catheter diameter with respect to the indwelling vein size. In this study, the CVR's effect on CVC hemodynamics and its impact on CRT is investigated with in vitro and in silico experiments.

Methods: An in vitro flow loop is used to characterize the hemodynamics around CVCs using particle image velocimetry. In addition, CRT is investigated using an in vitro flow loop with human blood and clinical catheters. The wall shear rate of flow around the CVC is computed numerically. CVRs of 0.20, 0.33, and 0.49 and Reynolds numbers of 200, 800, and 1300 are evaluated. No flow is used through CVC lumens to model chronic indwelling catheters.

Results: Results show CVR ≥ 0.33 promotes platelet-rich clot growth at the device tip and at an increased rate compared to lower CVR cases. A high wall shear rate gradient on the CVC tip and an extended wake distal to the tip exists for higher CVR cases, promoting the aggregation of platelets and subsequent stagnation for clot formation. Further, the combination of the CVR and Reynolds number are crucial to CRT potential, not the CVR alone. Specifically, thrombosis risk is increased with low (stasis driven) and/or high (platelet activation driven) flow conditions, with the CVR and CVC's geometry playing an additional role in promoting…

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