Klin Onkol 2012; 25(1): 9-16. DOI: 10.14735/amko20129.
Summary
Specific anti-cancer therapy is administered mainly via the parenteral route, Adequate venous access is, therefore, a topical issue in oncology. In some patients on long-term therapy, the peripheral venous system is extensively burdened. We present an overview of risk factors associated with parenteral application of medicins. We provide a comparison of different types of venous access devices and discuss recommendations on general indications for permanent venous access devices. We suggest an approach to the choice of the most appropriate venous access device for an oncology patient available to date. We present our experience with PICC (peripherally implanted central catheters) implantations used in 30 oncology patients in our centre. In addition to venous ports, PICCs represent another safe method of permanent venous access with low rate of complications. Indications for the use of a specific permanent venous access device (PICC or port) partly overlap and evidenced-based recommendations are lacking. However, we discuss the few suggestions that have been formulated on this issue.
