Implantable venous port-related infections in cancer patients

To evaluate the characteristics of implantable venous port-related infections in patients with malignancies.

This was a 6-year study in which all the records of cancer patients who were diagnosed with port-related infections were retrospectively analyzed.

The analysis included 36 episodes of port-related infections. The median period from port implantation to the episode of port-related infection was 164 days (21 to 1650 days). Of the 36 episodes, 15 (42%) were polymicrobial infections, and 21 (58%) were gram-negative pathogens. If only the port-related bacteremia was taken into consideration, gram-negative bacilli and gram-positive cocci accounted for 39 and 7 pathogens of the total 53 isolated microorganisms (74% and 13%, respectively). Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Acinetobacter baumanii were the predominant causal microorganisms. All except two infectious catheters were removed. No infection-related mortality developed.

Gram-negative bacilli, especially the glucose-non-fermenting pathogens, tend to be the major microorganisms that account for port-related infections, and the infections run a benign course, even those developed in septicemia.