Portacath lines improve quality of life for patients
The SonoSite SII system is enabling chemotherapy patients to be fitted with portacaths instead of traditional PICC lines.
The fund-raising efforts of Breast Friends Solihull and the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity is helping to improve the quality of life for metastatic breast cancer patients in the West Midlands. A Fujifilm SonoSite SII ultrasound system funded through donations is enabling chemotherapy patients to be fitted with portacaths instead of traditional peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC).
University Hospitals Birmingham Charity ceo Mike Hammond explained: PICC lines provide an effective route for the delivery of chemotherapy drugs, but can be quite restrictive on a patient’s lifestyle; they require weekly appointments to flush the lines and they prevent patients from swimming, for example. We wanted to offer our patients subcutaneous portacath lines that eliminate these issues. Ultrasound guidance is essential for placing and accessing these semi-permanent catheters but, unfortunately, there was no funding within the trust to purchase a point-of-care (POC) ultrasound system for oncology outpatients. The charity decided to fund this and, as a trusted supplier to the trust, we turned to Fujifilm SonoSite to provide this system.
See the full report on page 27 of the April 2018 issue of RAD Magazine.
