One of our oncology patients who has been on Navelbine weekly came into our Out patient Infusin Center for her treatment
When I accessed the port it was difficult for the needle to penetrate through the actual port and as the needle passed through the port it felt like it was passing through "sand" it did fluch easily and a brisl blood return was noted.
The skin around the port septum felt thickend
The patient did tell me that the week prior the port site was red and the doctor put her on po antibiotics and it had improved.
I sent the patient for a dye study and it came back negative for any malfunction
I still dont feel comfortable using the implanted port I feel it needs to be replaced due to the "sand-like" feeling when access
What can cause this? Any thoughts on this?Â
How old is this port? Could it be that it has been used so much that the septum is damaged? Has it ever been accessed with a regular needle? The redness could have been some of the drug leaking from the septum. Did the dye study look only at the catheter tip or did it also provide an image of the port body?
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
www.hadawayassociates.com
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861