Comparative Results of the Two Methods of Port Catheter Application and Evaluation of Patient Comfort with Visual Analogue Scale

Objectives: To evaluate the two different methods of port catheterization and evaluation of patient comfort with an objective scale. Background: Port catheters are essential in long term drug administrations such as chemotherapy or intravenous alimentation. Methods: Forty-six patients were port-catheterized between 01.05.2013 31.10.2013 in our clinic. Group 1 (n=21) consisted of non-aided catheter procedures and Group 2 (n=25) consisted of ultrasonography aided catheter application procedures. The patients were asked to evaluate the in-procedural pain, the duration of the procedure, their comfort in the procedure and mark it on a visual analogue scale. The scale was a 10 cm length straight line on plain paper numbered 1 at one end and 10 at the other end representing minimum and maximum values. Results: The mean age of the patient population was 53.85 years (ranged between 13 and 80 years) and consisted of 25 (54.3%) males and 21 (45.7%) females. The catheter placement sites are as follows respectively (Group 1/Group 2): right internal jugular vein 20 / 22, left internal jugular vein 0 / 3 and right basilic vein 1 / 0. A statistically significant difference was found in the operation length, puncture count, pain score and comfort score data of the groups. Operation length, puncture count and pain score were lower and comfort score was higher in Group 2 (p values respectively 0,001; 0,003; 0,031; 0,047). Conclusion: Visually aided port catheterization is less risky and more comfortable for both the surgeon and