Complications and Management of Chemotherapy Port: Analysis of 322 Cases

Abstract

Aim: Implantable central venous catheters are frequently preferred in malignancy patients in cases where drugs in the chemotherapy group that cause extravasation, drug group requiring continuous infusion and a single extremity as in breast carcinomas are used. In this study, it was aimed to present the complications that occur during chemotherapy port in the acute and chronic periods and the intervention method in malignancy patients. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent chemotherapy port application between January 2021 and June 2023 were examined retrospectively. They were evaluated by age, gender, malignancy types, acute and chronic complications, and surgical interventions for complications. Results: A total of 322 patients were performed venous port catheter for chemotherapy. There were 201 (62.4%) males. The mean age was 58.9±11.4 (range: 20-82) years. The most common malignancy types were colorectal carcinoma in 116 patients (36%), gastric carcinoma in 70 patients (21.7%) and pancreatic carcinoma in 53 patients (16.5%). The most common port catheter application sites were the right jugular (n=267, 82.9%), left jugular (n=27, 8.4%) and right subclavian (n=22, 6.8%). Complications were observed in 19 (5.9%) cases in the series, including 8 (2.5%) venous thrombus, 7 (2.2%) wound infection, 2 (0.6%) pneumothorax, and 2 (0.6%) port dislocation. Conclusion: In the patient group receiving chemotherapy, the use of chemotherapy ports has increased significantly in recent years due to its convenience. Although it is performed under local anesthesia, serious complications can be seen and the way to intervene in complications is important. I aimed to present complication and intervention methods with clinical experience.

Keywords

• chemotherapy
• venous port catheter
• ultrasonography