title: Port-a-caths in cancer patients.
abstract: We report on 91 patients with cancer who underwent the insertion of 89 venous and 4 hepatic arterial, implanted vascular ports (Port-a-caths) for periods of up to 33 months (total 1,525 patient-months). There were 1 fatal, 9 serious and 8 minor complications in 18 patients which are described and discussed. In this series, complications were more common in younger patients, and infection was rare. Port-a-caths are extremely useful for vascular access, and have a low complication rate. However, the occasional occurrence of serious and even fatal complications suggests that the decision to insert a device should be judiciously weighed.
authors.affiliation: Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre, Sudbury, Canada.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Sinoff
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006499:Hepatic Artery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013350:Subclavian Vein