Submit manuscript...
eISSN: 2373-6372

Gastroenterology & Hepatology: Open Access

Opinion Volume 1 Issue 4

Femoral Vein, an Effective and Efficient Alternative Puncture Site Involved in the TIVPP, Should be Used Strictly and Cautiously only under some Specific Conditions

Jia li Huang,1 Ling Zhang,2 Wei Wang3

1Department of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, China
2Department of General Surgery, Anhui Medical University, China
3Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Medical University, China

Correspondence: Wei Wang, Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, No.17 Lujiang Road, Hefei 230001, P.R. China, Tel +86 551 62283337, Fax +86 551 62283337

Received: October 04, 2014 | Published: December 3, 2014

Citation: Huang J, Zhang L, Wang W (2014) Femoral Vein, an Effective and Efficient Alternative Puncture Site Involved in the TIVPP, Should be Used Strictly and Cautiously only under some Specific Conditions.Gastroenterol Hepatol Open Access 1(4):00022. DOI: 10.15406/ghoa.2014.01.00022

Download PDF

Abbreviations

TIVPP, totally implantable venous power port; RCT, randomized clinical trial; DSA, digital subtraction angiography

Opinion

We read with great interest the recent article entitled “Femoral placement of totally implantable venous power ports as an alternative implantation site for patients with central vein occlusions” by Goltz et al.1 indicating that if implantation of a totally implantable venous power port (TIVPP) is not favorable in a standard position, femoral placement of the device may alternatively is used safely and with high technical success. We have totally agreed with the main perspectives written by the authors. However, there are still some issues worthy of our deeper consideration.

Firstly, as we all know, perineum is prone to be affected by bacterial much more than other parts of the body. Thus, if the operation was to be done, the strict pre-operative sterilization and hair removal should be prepared in order to decrease the potential chance of infection.2 So, we think this issue should be added and described clearly in the authors’ paper. Actually, according to the “2011 guidelines for catheter-related infection” recommended in American CDC governmental website,2 choosing femoral vein as a puncture site will increase more infection chance than other sites like internal jugular vein or subclavian vein. Thereafter, this opinion confronted a heated discussion and the final conclusion was still controversial.3–8 Therefore, a larger-scale randomized clinical trial (RCT) should be initiated to elucidate the underlying infection data clearly in future.

Secondly, the patient will come to more practical problems when they face to choose the femoral vein as a puncture site. For instance, the appearance is not well to some extent and it will largely affect patients’ choice willingness. As for this issue, we have launched a poll examination in 50 cases of cancer patients in our hospital from March 2014 to June 2014. The preliminary results showed that all patients will deny choosing the femoral vein as their first puncture site and the acceptance rate is 0% (0/50). Another point is that it is not convenient to use the TIVPP to infuse or treat, especially for women. To use TIVPP each time will mean that the patients need take off their trousers every time either. So, the femoral vein will be used strictly only under some specific circumstances like Goltz et al1 said.

Thirdly, we strongly recommend implanting a TIVPP device under the guidance of ultrasound combined with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) if the conditions permit. The ultrasound can help to show the anatomic trend of vessels clearly, promote the first success rate of puncture and prevent the related complications occurring like hematoma.9 And DSA can guarantee the catheter tip to be placed in the right site during the operation. Therefore, the combination of these two auxiliary instruments can assist to improve the success rate of puncture and ensure the security of implantation extremely.

Lastly, from our single center’s experience, we want to reminder that a much more excellent nursing and right treatment measure should be supplied when patients’ TIVPPs are used with femoral vein as puncture site. Because there are more valves in the femoral and iliac veins than other extremity vessels, it is easier to lead to regurgitation or extravasation after drug infusion. Therefore, the requirements for nursing care are much higher and stringent. The nursing team should be trained normally and familiar with the whole care procedure of TIVPP. The tube should be washed and sealed promptly and correctly to prevent potentially serious risk of drug extravasation or regurgitation after each infusion, especially for chemotherapy.

In conclusion, femoral vein, an effective and efficient alternative puncture site involved in the TIVPP, should be used strictly and cautiously only under some specific conditions. Before implantation, we should control the indications strictly, make a good communication with patients to acquire their knowledge and consent, strengthen aseptic technique to prevent potential infection and equip high-quality nursing care simultaneously. In future, larger-scale RCTs should be established to evaluate the associated short- and long-term complications and the influence on the patient’s quality of life by the use of TIVPP with the femoral vein as a puncture site.

Funding

None.

Acknowledgments

This research was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81201906).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

  1. Goltz JP, Janssen H, Petritsch B, et al. Femoral placement of totally implantable venous power ports as an alternative implantation site for patients with central vein occlusions. Support Care Cancer. 2014;22(2):383–387.
  2. O'Grady NP, Alexander M, Burns LA, et al. Guidelines for the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52(9):162–193.
  3. Marik PE, Flemmer M, Harrison W. The risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection with femoral venous catheters as compared tosubclavian and internal jugular venous catheters: a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. Crit Care Med. 2012;40(8):2479–2485.
  4. Whalen F. ACP Journal Club. Review: femoral and subclavian or internal jugular venous catheters do not differ for bloodstream infections. Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(10):5–8.
  5. Lipshutz AK, Gropper MA. Central venous catheters: follow the evidence, not the guidelines. Crit Care Med. 2012;40(8):2528–2529.
  6. El-Saed A, Balkhy HH. The risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection in different catheter insertion sites: evidence versus guidelines. Crit Care Med. 2013;41(9):239–240.
  7. Fares WH. Not all catheter-days are equal. Crit Care Med. 2013;41(2):14.
  8. Lorente L, Jimenez A. Central venous catheter site: should we really stop avoiding the femoral vein? Crit Care Med. 2013;41(4):34.
  9. Chen SY, Lin CH, Chang HM, et al. A safe and effective method to implant a totally implantable access port in patients with synchronous bilateral mastectomies: modified femoral vein approach. J Surg Oncol. 2008;98(3):197–199.
Creative Commons Attribution License

©2014 Huang, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.