Premium
A new complication of chemotherapy administered via permanent indwelling central venous catheter
Author(s) -
Ardalan Bach,
Flores M. Regina
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19950415)75:8<2165::aid-cncr2820750821>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - medicine , catheter , complication , chemotherapy , surgery , fluorouracil , lumen (anatomy) , port (circuit theory) , anesthesia , electrical engineering , engineering
Background. The use of permanent intravenous access devices for chemotherapy administration has become a common practice in clinical oncology. Therefore, awareness of potential complications is important. The authors previously reported the use of high dose 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) (2600 mg/m 2 ) and leucovorin (500 mg/m 2 ) as a weekly 24‐hour infusion for patients with colorectal carcinoma. In this report, a new complication of permanent indwelling catheters with high dose 5‐fluorouracil (2600 mg/m 2 ) and leucovorin (500 mg/m 2 ) as a weekly 24‐hour infusion for colorectal carcinoma is described. Methods. Twenty‐two patients in the previous Phase trial on weekly high dose 5‐FU and leucovorin were included in this study. All patients had either a singlelumen Port‐o‐cath (Pharmacia Deltec, St. Paul, MN) or Hickman catheter (Travenol Laboratories, Deerfield, IL). Occluded catheters were explanted, and the material found in their lumen was analyzed using infrared spectroscopy. Results. Eleven of 22 patients had catheter blockage, and calcium carbonate formation (Calcite 100%) was identified within these catheters. Conclusion. Calcite formation causing catheter occlusion is a new and important complication resulting from using intravenous access devices for chemotherapy administration. Oncologists should be alerted to this phenomenon when high dose 5‐FU and leucovorin are administered for 24 hours by continuous infusion using a single‐port port‐o‐cath.