A survey of American College of Surgery fellows evaluating their use of antibiotic prophylaxis in the placement of subcutaneously implanted central venous access ports

Abstract

Background: Currently, there is no standard of care for prophylactic antibiotics (PABX) at the time of placement of fully implanted central venous access ports (CVAPs). A survey of fellows of the American College of Surgeons was undertaken to determine the current practice pattern of PABX in CVAP placement.

Methods: A survey was mailed to 5,000 fellows of the American College of Surgeons.

Results: The response rate was 21.7%, with 73.1% of respondents nonacademic surgeons. PABX were given by 88.2% of the respondents. Of those who did not use PABX, the primary reasons were "not justified" or "not standard of care." General comments regarding reasons for use of PABX included "medicolegal," "required by hospital," and "liability."

Conclusions: In this survey, the overwhelming majority of responding American College of Surgeons fellows indicated that they use preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis for CVAP placement, despite there being no accepted standard of care or definitive evidence regarding PABX use for fully implanted CVAPs.

Keywords: American College of Surgery fellows; Implanted central venous access ports; Port-A-Cath; Prophylactic antibiotics; Survey.