Epidemiology Of Long-Term Catheter Implantation For Chemotherapy In The Public Health System In Brazil: A 16-Year Analysis Of 168,869 Cases

BackgroundThe implantation of long term catheters is crucial in various clinical contexts, particularly for patients requiring prolonged intravenous systemic therapy for cancer treatment. Consequently, analyzing the epidemiology of long term catheter implantation is highly relevant to clinical practice and the management of public health resources, especially concerning the entire population of a country. ObjectivesTo evaluate the placement of 168,869 long term chemotherapy catheters performed within Brazil public health system (SUS) from 2008 to 2023. MethodsWe used data from DATASUS (Department of Information and Informatics of the Brazilian Public Health System). Our analysis focused on patients treated in Brazil from 2008 to 2023. The study also analyzed patient demographic and clinical characteristics, number of procedures over the years and divided by macro-region, days of hospitalization and associated diagnoses, as well as mortality rates and financial transfers related to catheter placement. ResultsA total of 168,869 long term catheter implants were carried out, with over 70% of these procedures being performed in the South and Southeastern regions of the country. Most of the surgical interventions were performed on female patients (59.7%) and adult patients aged 30 to 64 years (57.4%). The predominant indications were neoplasms (78.9%), particularly colorectal (22.3%) and breast (19.4%). The average reimbursement to the SUS was US$115.33 per procedure, with a cumulative total of US$19.48 million in the period analyzed, and the mortality was 13 deaths per 1,000 catheter implants. ConclusionsBased on a total of 168,869 chemotherapy catheters implanted from 2008 to 2023 in the Brazilian public health system, we observed that most of the patients were adult women with neoplasms. The associated mortality rate is low (1.3%) and the cost estimated per procedure is US$115.33.