Abstract
To evaluate the procedural and follow-up results of radiologic central venous port placement in pediatric patients. Between July 2002 and July 2006, 127 chest ports were placed in 122 pediatric patients (80 boys, 42 girls). Five patients underwent port implantation twice. The mean age of the patients was 8.5 years (range, 4 months to 18 years). The most common underlying disease was leukemia (66%). Internal jugular vein access was used in all patients. All types of anesthesia or sedation for the procedures were applied by anesthetists in the angiography suite. Retrospective evaluation of an electronic database and hospital charts was performed for the detailed follow-up. Technical success rate was 100%. The mean catheter life was 459 days (total, 51,373 d; range, 16-1,297 catheter-days). Overall, 82 ports are still in use, 10 patients are deceased, and eight (7.1%) and 12 (10.7%) ports were removed at the end of treatment or as a result of complications, respectively. One patient (0.9%) died 167 days after port implantation as a result of unconfirmed port-related sepsis. Eight ports (7.1%) were explanted as a result of infectious complications, three (2.7%) required removal for skin erosion, and one (0.9%) was explanted as a result of a broken catheter. The rate of confirmed overall port-related infection was 14.3%, or 0.31 infections per 1,000 catheter days. Fifteen patients were lost to follow-up. Chest port placement by interventional radiologists in pediatric patients is safe, with a high rate of technical success and low rate of complications.
Published Version
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