Impact of central venous port implantation method and access choice on outcomes

BACKGROUND Although the number of patients who need central venous ports for permanent vascular access is increasing,there is still no“gold standard”for the implantation technique.AIM To identify the implantation technique that should be favored.METHODS Two hundred central venous port-implanted patients in a tertiary hospital were retrospectively evaluated.Patients were assigned into two groups according to the access method.The first group comprised patients whose jugular veins were used,and the second group comprised patients whose subclavian veins were used.Groups were evaluated regarding age,sex,application side,primary diagnosis,active follow-up period in the hospital,chemotherapy agents administered,number of complications,and the Clavien-Dindo severity score.The distribution of the variables was tested with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the Mann-Whitney U test.Theχ^(2) test was used to analyze the variables.RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding age,sex,side,number of chemotherapy drugs,and duration of port usage(P>0.05).Only 2 patients in group 1 had complications,whereas in group 2 we observed 19 patients with complications(P<0.05).No port occlusion was found in group 1,but the catheters of 4 patients were occluded in group 2.One port was infected in group 1 compared to three infected ports in group 2.Two port ruptures,two pneumothorax,one revision due to a mechanical problem,one tachyarrhythmia during implantation,and four suture line problems were also recorded in group 2 patients.We also showed that it would be sufficient to evaluate and wash ports once every 2 mo.CONCLUSION Our results robustly confirm that the jugular vein route is safer than the subclavian vein approach for central venous port implantation.

Clinical Course of Lung Cancer Patients with Subcutaneously Implanted Central Venous Access Device Ports from the Time of Receiving Chemotherapy to the Endpoint of Cancer

Background: As the prognosis of lung cancer (LC) patients improves, subcutaneously implanted central venous access device ports (CV-ports) have frequently been used for continuing chemotherapy (CC) or palliative care (PC). In this study, we examined the clinical course of LC patients with subcutaneously implanted CV-ports from the time of receiving chemotherapy to the endpoint of cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data and treatment history of LC patients with subcutaneously implanted CV-ports between June 2008 and November 2013 using clinical records and a pharmacy database. Results: Of the 132 LC patients with subcutaneously implanted CV-ports, 79 (59.8%) had CV-ports for CC (the CC group) and 53 (40.2%) had CV-ports for PC (the PC group). After CV-port implantation, LC patients in the CC group received a median of two regimens with a median of 6 cycles. The median survival time of patients in the CC and PC groups was 457 and 44 days, respectively. In the CC group, the median survival time of small cell and non-small cell LC patients was 342 (95% confidence interval, 235 - 627) and 563 (95% confidence interval, 368 - 728) days, respectively. Nine patients (6.8%) had their CV-ports removed due to complications. Forty (30.3%) of the 132 enrolled patients were referred for at-home PC. The at-home death rate observed among these 40 patients was 30.0% (N = 12). Conclusion: CV-ports may contribute to seamless oncological care.