Totally Implantable Venous Access Port Infection in Northwest of Iran

Objectives: The totally Implantable Venous Access Ports (TIVAPs) are widely used for chemotherapy, parenteral nutrition, blood sampling, infusion or injection. They are suitable for long-term use and improve the patient"s quality of life; however they have some important complications. One of the most common complications is infection. We investigated the port infection rate as well as its risk factors. Materials and Methods: All patients with TIVAP who were admitted to the academic palliative care clinic for heparin flash, Haber needling or care of TIVAP, were enrolled in study. Patients" demographic, sociodemographic data and clinical signs and symptoms were collected by questionnaire and physical exam. Blood culture was performed from port access of patients. The port removed in any case with positive blood culture or other irresolvable problem. The collected data were compared between patients with or without port infection. Results: Out of 116 patients, 95 patients (81.9%) were female and 21 patients (18.1%) were male. The rate of infection was 5.2%. In 11 cases the port was removed during the study period. The total complication rate was 15.5%. There were not any correlations between type of malignancy, patients" level of education, previous chemotherapy and radiation therapy and the length of time of port implantation with port infection rate. Conclusions: The prevalence of the infection and total complication rate was 15.5%. and 5.2% respectively. Infection with Staphylococcus aureus was the most common reason