Treatment of canine multicentric lymphoma through vascular access port vs. peripheral venous catheter

ABSTRACT

Background: Vascular access port (VAP) was developed for the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, minimizinglocal drug reactions and complications associated with migration of peripheral venous catheter (PVC) in humans. Thedevice is widely used in human oncology and has gained importance in veterinary oncology, especially in long treatmentregimens, as in the case of canine lymphoma. VAP favors therapy and the animals life quality. The aim of this study wasto describe the use of VAP in dogs, comparing to PVC access, during canine lymphoma chemotherapeutic treatment.Materials, Methods & Results: Eleven dogs with multicentric lymphoma which required chemotherapy were selectedfor the study. The dogs were randomly allocated to two groups with five and six animals, and each group received thechemotherapy protocol through the PVC (n= 5) or VAP (n= 6). For the sake of standardization, assessments were madewhenever the dogs received vincristine sulfate, despite the use of the infusion system in all sessions of the MadisonWisconsin protocol. A VAP was implanted into the right external jugular vein of six dogs under inhalational anesthesia,using the Seldinger technique. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels and handling time during chemotherapy sessions werecompared in both groups in three time periods during the procedures 10 min after arrival to each chemotherapy (P1);immediately after placement of the PVC or puncture of the VAP reservoir (P2); and at the end of chemotherapy (P3). Thearithmetic mean of five consecutive assessments was used in each time period. In the chemotherapy sessions, the mean ofSBP variation decreased statistically significant in the VAP group compared to PVC group. SBP decreased from P1 to P2and from P1 to P3 in all sessions (S1, S2, and S3) in the VAP group, and increased in the PVC...(AU)