Infectious Port Complications Are More Frequent in Younger Patients with Hematologic Malignancies than in Solid Tumor Patients

<i>Background:</i> We assessed longevity and complications of totally implantable venous access devices in oncology patients. <i>Methods:</i> 197 patients received a total of 201 port devices via the subclavian vein for delivery of chemotherapy between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2006. We reviewed the patient charts for port-related complications and risk factors until July 31, 2007. <i>Results:</i>A total of 47,781 catheter days were analyzed (median, 175 days; range, 1–831). Forty-six different complications occurred (0.96 complications/1,000 catheter days). The only risk factor significantly associated with a higher complication rate was younger age. Older patients had a lower risk for developing complications with a risk reduction of 2.4% for each year. There were no differences regarding underlying tumor, gender, access side, method of placement (subclavian/cephalic vein) or implanting team (thoracic versus visceral surgery). A trend was seen for shorter port longevity in hematologic patients compared to oncologic patients (p = 0.059). The former developed significantly more port-associated infections than solid tumor patients [11/53 cases (21%) versus 2/148 cases (1.4%); p < 0.0001]. <i>Conclusions:</i> Port-associated infections were mostly observed in younger patients with hematologic neoplasms. Prospective trials should be performed to evaluate the benefit of a prophylactic antimicrobial lock in these selected patients.