Port Chemotherapy in Cancer Patient : Our Experience and Review

Abstract

Port implant plays an important role in the management of cancer chemotherapy. A cancer patient needs long term chemotherapy, frequent intravenous medication, parenteral nutrition, blood transfusion and blood extraction for blood test. For many reasons peripheral lines are not available as patients have already received chemotherapy. The port is an excellent way to administer chemotherapy on a long term basis but it should be with at most care. It not only improves the quality of life in cancer patients but also reduces the burden on nursing care. Proper placement and care of the port implant is very important to avoid complications. Methodology: This is a retrospective study in which collected data of patients who received the chemotherapy for cancer through Chemo port at SLV cancer center, Coimbatore, India. Aims And Objectives: The main objective of this study is to analyze the complication and outcomes related to port implant. Results: The Chemoport has been implanted in 84 patients in a period of three year (2017-2020) in which solid malignancy cases are (n =76) and hematological malignancy cases are (n=8). Among the solid malignancies cases, Breast cancer (n=48) was the most common malignant disease followed by Ovarian cancer (n=12) and Lymphoma (n=8). Of the 84 patients in the study group, for the first 24 patients, we started chemotherapy on the eighth day of the port implant and for the next 60 patients we started chemotherapy on the first postoperative day of the port implantation. The various complications developed in this study group are given in the descending order as follows: Infection(n=4), septicemia(n=3),catheter blockage due to blood clot(n=3), subclavian vein thrombosis(n=1), port site skin necrosis(n=1), catheter kink(n=1), pneumothorax(n=1) and pulmonary embolism and death(n=1).