{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T07:06:59Z","timestamp":1784531219639,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774051200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Vasc Access"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Extended maintenance intervals up to 12\u2009weeks for totally implanted venous access ports (TIVAPs) appear safe in oncology patients after chemotherapy, but the safety of 24-week flushing schedules is unknown. We evaluated a 24-week maintenance protocol implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in cancer survivors with indwelling ports.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study including adults (\u2a7e18\u2009years) with solid tumors who had completed intravenous anticancer therapy and were transitioned to a 24-week flushing protocol (January 2020-December 2024). Patients with ongoing port use or shorter\/irregular intervals were excluded. The primary endpoint was any port-related complication (occlusion, infection, thrombosis, mechanical failure, or other) during the maintenance phase. Incidence rates per 100 port-years, Kaplan-Meier event-free survival and a univariable Cox model for Charlson comorbidity index were calculated.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among 105 patients (70.5% female; median age 60\u2009years), breast and colorectal cancers accounted for 76.2% of tumors and 81.9% had early-stage disease. Median Charlson index was 0 (IQR 0\u20131). Ports were followed for 257.4 port-years (median 950\u2009days), with a median of 5 maintenance visits and median interval 25.1\u2009weeks; 88% of flushes occurred within \u00b14\u2009weeks of schedule. Six patients (5.7%) experienced a complication: two occlusions, two mechanical malfunctions, one catheter-related thrombosis, and one pain-related removal; no infections or port-related deaths occurred. Overall incidence was 2.33 events\/100 port-years (95% CI 0.86\u20135.07). Event-free survival was 97.0% at 12\u2009months and 95.7% at 24 and 36\u2009months; median was not reached. Charlson index was not associated with complications (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.68\u20131.34;\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.79).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In a low-comorbidity, post-therapy population managed with standardized insertion and nursing protocols, a 24-week flushing interval yielded very low complication rates, comparable to those reported for 4\u201312-week schedules. The analytic cohort consisted predominantly of long-term, low-comorbidity survivors with ports already in place for several years, which likely reduced baseline complication risk. This selection bias limits generalizability to higher-risk populations. Although no infections were observed across 257 port-years, the confidence intervals remain wide due to the small number of events; therefore, these findings should be interpreted as suggestive rather than definitive evidence of safety.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A 24-week TIVAP maintenance interval after completion of intravenous therapy appeared feasible and safe in this real-world cohort, with no infections and excellent port survival. These findings support cautious consideration of ultra-extended intervals in selected cancer survivors but require confirmation in larger prospective comparative studies before broad implementation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Categories:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Supportive oncology, vascular access, health services and survivorship care.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/11297298261432715","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T10:37:26Z","timestamp":1774089446000},"page":"1810-1819","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Extended maintenance intervals for implanted venous ports in oncology: A retrospective assessment of 24-week intervals (PORT-24 study)"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4482-3909","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiago","family":"Pina-Cabral","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1049-7077","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Ricou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-7618-2773","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Teresa","family":"Recio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-7855-8664","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carina","family":"Nascimento","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-2255-2363","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Cabral","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-5461-7934","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raquel","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1020-8636","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisca","family":"Ferraz de Liz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8978-9372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"Ponte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Unidade Local de Sa\u00fade Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3322\/CA.2008.0015"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/COC.0000000000000361"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00520-017-3816-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/MD.0000000000012427"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_2","first-page":"69023","article-title":"Management of venous access ports with varying maintenance intervals after chemotherapy for malignant tumors","volume":"225","author":"Zhang L","year":"2025","unstructured":"Zhang L, Dai B, Li Q. 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