title: A retrospective clinical study: complications of totally implanted central venous access ports.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  When managing patients who require repeated venous access, gaining a viable intravenous route has been problematic. To improve the situation, various studies on techniques for venous access have been conducted. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical results of complications following totally implanted central venous access port (TICVAP) insertion.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was conducted on 163 patients, from December 2008 to March 2013. The occurrence of complications was studied in three separate periods of catheter use: the intraoperative period, postoperative period, and period during the treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 165 cases of TICVAP insertions involving 156 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 35 complications (21%) overall. Among these, 31 cases of complications (19%) occurred during the treatment period and the other 4 cases were intraoperative and postoperative complications (2%). There were no statistically significant differences in age and gender of the patients between the two groups to be risk factors (p=0.147, p=0.08). Past history of chemotherapy, initial laboratory findings, and the locations of TICVAP insertion also showed no statistical significance as risk factors (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because the majority of complications occurred after port placement and during treatment, meticulous care and management and appropriate education are necessary when using TICVAPs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Konyang University Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: June Pill
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Seok
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Konyang University Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Min
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Konyang University Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: Han Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Konyang University Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: Wan Jin
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Yun
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Sung
keywords: Central venous access device; Chemotherapy, adjuvant; Intraoperative complications; Postoperative complications