Complications of totally implantable venous access devices: experience with 852 Moroccan cancer patients

Background: Totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) provide easy vascular access in cancer patients for chemotherapy administration, blood products, parenteral nutrition and blood sampling. However, they are associated with several complications which can be divided into early and late. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the various complications related to TIVADs in a single center in Morocco.Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, descriptive study conducted at the Medical Oncology Department of the Military Hospital Moulay Ismail in Meknes, Morocco, during a 6-year period, between January 1st, 2011 and December 31st, 2016. Author included all patients older than or equal to 18 years, with solid malignancies who had TIVAD placement for chemotherapy.Results: A total 852 TIVADs were placed. There were 92 complications (10.8% of patients). Early complications included 16 (1.9%) cases of pneumothorax and 12 (1.4%) cases of arterial puncture with a cervical hematoma. Infection was the most common late complications (2.8%), followed by thrombosis (1.8), extravasations of cytotoxic drugs (1.3%), mechanical dysfunction of the catheter (1.3%) and skin necrosis (0.3%).Conclusions: The results of the analysis confirm the safety and tolerability of TIVADs for chemotherapy administration in Moroccan patients, with similar rates of early and late complications compared to the published data.