A low-intervention policy for Hickman catheter maintenance has been evaluated and found to be safe and cost effective. A simple, lightweight, disposable device has been used for 24–hour ambulatory home infusion. Implementation of this policy as part of a prospective randomized trial of single-agent chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer has demonstrated that slow intravenous infusion reduces the acute toxicity of epirubicin when compared with bolus injection.
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