Choline deficiency is associated with increased risk for venous catheter thrombosis

BACKGROUND: Patients with intestinal failure who require long-term parenteral nutrition (PN) develop catheter thrombosis as a complication. This patient group may also develop choline deficiency because of a defect in the hepatic transsulfuration pathway in the setting of malabsorption. This study was undertaken to determine whether choline deficiency is a risk factor for development of catheter thrombosis. METHODS: Plasma free and phospholipid-bound choline concentrations were measured in a group of 41 patients that required long-term PN. Episodes of catheter thrombosis from onset of PN to the time of blood testing were recorded. RESULTS: Sixteen (39%) patients developed catheter thrombosis, and 5 of these had recurrent catheter thrombosis. Plasma free choline was 7.7 +/- 2.7 nmol/mL in patients with no history of catheter thrombosis and 6.2 +/- 1.7 nmol/mL in patients with previous catheter thrombosis (p = .076 by Wilcoxon rank-sum test). The partial correlation between plasma free choline concentration and the frequency of clots after controlling for catheter duration was r = -0.33 (p = .038). The relative risk for catheter thrombosis in subjects with a plasma free choline concentration <8 nmol/mL was 10.0, 95% confidence interval (1.134-88.167). Plasma phospholipid-bound choline concentration was 2191.7 +/- 679.0 nmol/mL in patients with previous catheter thrombosis and 2103.3 +/- 531.2 nmol/mL in patients without history of catheter thrombosis (p = NS). CONCLUSION: Choline deficiency is a significant risk factor for development of catheter thrombosis in patients with intestinal failure who require PN.