Port Catheter Insufficiency: Incidence and Clinical-Radiological Correlations

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyse the radiological findings and corresponding clinical signs in patients with port catheter insufficiency. Patients and Methods: In this single-centre retrospective study, 1,185 totally implantable port devices were implanted from January 1997 to December 2005. Patients with suspected port insufficiency receiving a port angiography were evaluated, and patient files were analysed for the accompanying clinical signs of the port malfunction. Results: In this period, 186 port angiographies were obtained. In all, 223 radiological findings were identified, which translates into a complication rate of 18.9% in regard to all im-planted ports (aip). The complications were as follows: port catheter thrombosis (53.4%, 10% aip), pinch off syndrome (24.2%, 4.6% aip), catheter migration (7.2%, 1.4% aip), catheter retraction (6.3%, 1.2% aip), catheter rupture (4.0%, 0.8% aip), catheter disconnection (3.1%, 0.6% aip), and port chamber defect (1.8%, 0.3% aip). The main clinical symptoms included blood aspiration impossibility, resistance to injection of fluids, chest wall swelling, and pain during injection. Conclusions: The knowledge of the different types of port catheter insufficiencies in correspondence with the possible associated clinical signs plays a key role in the recognition and prevention of further port-associated complications such as paravasation.