Outcomes associated with different intraperitoneal chemotherapy delivery systems in advanced ovarian carcinoma: a single institution's experience

Background Despite increasing use of intraperitoneal chemotherapy the optimal delivery strategy and regimen remain undetermined. Catheter-related complications have been reported in 3–34% of cases across a number of platforms and port styles, but few data compare different catheters directly. We sought to evaluate the complication rate of two separate intraperitoneal chemotherapy port delivery systems used within a single practice. Methods We reviewed the medical records of all patients who underwent port placement in our practice (two surgical centers) from January, 2006 through October, 2008. Data extracted included: demographics, medical co-morbidities, port type, timing of placement, intraoperative procedures, reasons for discontinuation of IP chemotherapy, and number of completed cycles. Results We identified 85 patients who had intraperitoneal ports placed. Four patients were excluded from this analysis: 2 declined chemotherapy and 2 were treated at other institutions and follow-up data was insufficient. Fifty-two (64%) of the 81 patients analyzed had a fenestrated port placed, and 29 (36%) had single lumen ports. In 67 cases (83%) the port was placed at the time of initial cytoreductive surgery. In 14 patients (17%) it was placed as a secondary event. The groups were well matched for age, stage, BMI, and medical co-morbidities though the group with single lumen catheters had more antecedent surgeries. We observed no significant difference between patients with single lumen or fenestrated ports with regard to: number of intraperitoneal treatments, catheter-related complications, hematologic outcomes, and rates of discontinuation. Conclusions A low rate of catheter-related complications is observed with both systems. The majority of discontinuations were due to hematologic complications and did not appear to be intrinsic to catheter choice.