Totally implantable venous access ports systems for patients receiving chemotherapy for solid tissue malignancies: a randomized controlled clinical trial examining the safety, efficacy, costs, and impact on quality of life

This is a critical abstract of an economic evaluation that meets the criteria for inclusion on NHS EED. Each abstract contains a brief summary of the methods, the results and conclusions followed by a detailed critical assessment on the reliability of the study and the conclusions drawn. "Ports were safe and effective, but had no detectable impact on functional quality of life, despite less access-related anxiety, pain, and discomfort. Because only approximately one quarter of control patients ultimately required central venous access, economic considerations suggest that port-use policies should be based upon defined criteria of need."