Construction and clinical application of a bundled nursing care program for PICC management in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Abstract

e13612 Background: Purpose To develop a bundled nursing care program for peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) management in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to preliminarily evaluate its clinical effectiveness. Methods: A total of 70 patients with locally advanced NPC who underwent first-time PICC placement between October 2024 and September 2025 at a tertiary hospital were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group (n = 35 per group). The control group received routine nursing care during concurrent chemoradiotherapy, whereas the intervention group received a structured bundled nursing care program in addition to routine care. Catheter-related complications, unplanned catheter removal, reinsertion rate, catheter dwell time, and incidence of insertion-site pain during catheterization were compared between the two groups. Results: The overall incidence of catheter-related complications was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (17.14% vs 57.14%). The rates of unplanned catheter removal (11.43% vs 34.29%) and catheter reinsertion (5.71% vs 25.71%) were also significantly reduced in the intervention group (all P < 0.05). Median catheter dwell time was longer in the intervention group compared with the control group (115 [IQR, 106–129] days vs 108 [IQR, 94–118] days; P < 0.05). In addition, the incidence of catheter insertion-site pain during and after concurrent therapy was significantly lower in the intervention group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Implementation of a bundled nursing care program for PICC management in patients with NPC significantly reduces catheter-related complications and unplanned catheter removal, prolongs catheter dwell time, decreases reinsertion frequency, and alleviates insertion-site pain. This approach may improve quality of life and nursing care experience for patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy.