| dc.description.abstract | Central Venous Catheters (CVCs) are used to provide safe administration of chemotherapeutic drugs during cancer treatment. This study focused on how the treatment influences the material properties of one type of CVC, the Subcutaneous Venous Access Port (SVAP). The SVAPs, which are fully implanted under the skin, are linked with fewer restrictions in regards to physical activity for the patient, and fewer complications than some of the other CVC options. There are, however, still some risks involved, especially the formation of thrombosis.
The SVAP polyurethane catheters examined in this study were obtained from a previous study by the present author. The samples were exposed to real-life chemotherapy treatment, containing the cytostatic drugs FE100C + Taxotere, over a prolonged period of time, i.e. 18 weeks. A selection of these samples was later exposed to whole blood in a Chandler loop experimental set-up. One reference sample exposed to only NaCl solution during the same duration of treatments as the real-life chemotherapy treatment was obtained from another study conducted earlier.
The surface degradation on the inner and outer catheter surfaces was observed in the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. There was a significant increase in porosity and crazing throughout the duration of treatment, and these alterations were more severe for the catheter samples exposed to whole blood in the Chandler loop experiment. This is caused by the leaching of additives in the material, resulting in alteration in mechanical and chemical properties.
The effect on the mechanical properties was observed in the results from the tensile test. A decrease in strength and increase in ductility, after exposure to chemotherapy treatment, were determined. The uncertainty in the characterization method of the contact angle measurements made it difficult to conclude a prominent trend for the changes in hydrophobicity of the material. The analysis, however, indicated that exposure of chemotherapy treatment affected the surface roughness.
The results in this study clearly indicate the degradation of the polyurethane catheters after long-term exposure to chemotherapy drugs, however, further research is required to estimate the extent of the material deterioration.
The results in this study cannot give a clear conclusion in determining the degradation of the polyurethane catheters after long-term exposure to chemotherapy drugs, for this further research is required. | en |
