Cis platine (CDDP) in continuous intravenous ambulatory infusion: a new method of administration

Twenty-three patients with metastatic tumors received multiple chemotherapy regimens which included CIS platine (CDDP) by continuous ambulatory infusion for 4 successive days at a rate of 25 mg/m2/day repeated every 4 weeks. Continuous infusion was provided by an external disposable pump, the "Infusor," which delivers the drug in a volume of 48 ml at a constant rate of 2 ml/hour, in conjunction with oral hydration and antiemetics. No incident detrimental to the patient was recorded. The average duration of the infusions was 23 hr. Only 22% of the patients had minor nausea and vomiting, and 1 case of functional renal insufficiency (4%) was easily corrected by simple intravenous hydration. A randomized study is ongoing to compare continuous perfusion with standard infusion for efficiency, side effects and response rate. Patients with "Infusor" are treated at home under Minitel supervision.