Port catheter insufficiency: incidence and clinical-radiological correlations

The purpose of this study was to analyse the radiological findings and corresponding clinical signs in patients with port catheter insufficiency.

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.

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.

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.