Incidence of Early Related–Complications of Port-A Catheter and Impact of Clinical Pharmacist Participation and Counselling Outcomes

Background: Port-A catheter is an implanted device used for frequent chemotherapy administration. It is not complications free and often requires an additional intervention for the assessment of possible complications and provision of further patient care. The first objective is to assess the incidence of early-related complications (ERCs) of port-A catheter insertion. The second objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of appropriate counselling and patient care services offered by the clinical pharmacist on reducing the incidence of the observed complications. Materials and Method: A prospective pilot study was carried out on newly diagnosed cancer patients eligible for chemotherapy administration via port-A catheter. Suitable counselling and patient care services were provided and the incidence of ERCs of port –A catheter were recorded and considered as the first reading. After one month of follow-up, reduced incidence of ERCs of port –A catheter, patients’ acceptance and application of recommendations were recorded and considered as the second reading. Results: 63.6% (N=70) of the study participants suffered from ERCs of port –A catheter. The provision of counselling services by the clinical pharmacist included therapeutic and non-therapeutic recommendations which resulted in limited incidence of ERCs particularly skin rash (87.1%; P=0.0001) that was significantly reduced (41.4%; P=0.031) at the end of the study. Conclusion: The essential role of the clinical pharmacist within the multidisciplinary team could further augment patient care and reduce the incidence of ERCs of port –A catheter via the provision of appropriate counselling services that could optimize therapy outcomes and patient satisfaction.