Abstract
Objectives: Port placement is a helpful tool in cancer patients requiring long-term intravenous therapy. However, the tool is used in a small number of patients in Iran due to various reasons, such as no facilities and time, limited access, and poor patient cooperation. This study aims to examine the frequency of port placement and its complications in cancer patients.
Methods: In this prospective study, the data of cancer patients who underwent port placement and received chemotherapy were collected from October 2019 to September 2020. Then, we reviewed and analyzed their demographic characteristics, method and frequency of port placement, and the associated complications.
Results: Of 2634 patients who received chemotherapy, 50 underwent port placement (1.9%). Of whom, 15 were excluded due to missing data or no access to the patients or their files. In the remaining 35 patients, the most common method of port placement was surgical (91%), and the most common methods of flushing and locking were using distilled water (88%) and heparin (100%), respectively. The frequency of main complications was 20% which included infection (11.4%) and mechanical catheter dysfunction (8.5%). Six patients (17.1%) underwent catheter removal.
Discussion: The number of patients who underwent port placement was very low, possibly due to the above reasons. The frequency of complications was low, but it can be further reduced by using better materials and techniques and following port maintenance instructions.
Methods: In this prospective study, the data of cancer patients who underwent port placement and received chemotherapy were collected from October 2019 to September 2020. Then, we reviewed and analyzed their demographic characteristics, method and frequency of port placement, and the associated complications.
Results: Of 2634 patients who received chemotherapy, 50 underwent port placement (1.9%). Of whom, 15 were excluded due to missing data or no access to the patients or their files. In the remaining 35 patients, the most common method of port placement was surgical (91%), and the most common methods of flushing and locking were using distilled water (88%) and heparin (100%), respectively. The frequency of main complications was 20% which included infection (11.4%) and mechanical catheter dysfunction (8.5%). Six patients (17.1%) underwent catheter removal.
Discussion: The number of patients who underwent port placement was very low, possibly due to the above reasons. The frequency of complications was low, but it can be further reduced by using better materials and techniques and following port maintenance instructions.
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Copyright
© 2016, Jundishapur Journal of Oncology. This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which allows for the copying and redistribution of the material only for noncommercial purposes, provided that the original work is properly cited.