Infection and dysfunction analysis among short-stay catheters and tunneled catheters for hemodialysis
Chronic Kidney Disease; Hemodialysis; Vascular access.
Introduction: End-stage Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) on hemodialysis (HD) implies the need for vascular access (VA). Central venous catheters (CVC) used as AV for HD can be short-stay or tunneled and the use of these devices has been increasing over time. Infection and dysfunction are complications related to CVC, which may impact morbidity and mortality. We decided to conduct, in a nephrology center, a comparative study of infection rates and dysfunction between short-stay and tunneled catheters. Objective: To compare the rates of infection and dysfunction between short-stay catheters and tunneled for hemodialysis in a period of 180 days after implantation. Methodology: This is a retrospective cohort study for evaluation of CVC for HD implanted from 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2020 in a tertiary hospital. Catheters implanted in patients with end-stage CKD and excluded catheters were excluded in patients with acute renal injury, with duration of less than 3 (three) HD sessions, catheters in patients who died up to one week after implantation and in patients who changed hemodialysis service, migrated to peritoneal dialysis or underwent renal transplantation. The following data were collected through an electronic medical record review: age, gender, type of catheter used and implant site, hemoglobin, albumin and parathyroid hormone (PTH) at the beginning of hemodialysis, mortality, Kt/V with the catheter in question, presence of infection with the bacteriological profile and presence of dysfunction. Preliminary results: We analyzed 727 catheters, 469 of short stay (64.5%) and 258 tunneled (35.5%). Among the short-stay catheters, 78 were removed by infection (16.6%) and 136 due to dysfunction (29%). Among the tunneled catheters, 30 were removed by infection (11.6%) and 62 were removed due to dysfunction (24%). Conclusion: Most catheters implanted during the study were short-lived. It is necessary to perform statistical analysis to assess the significance of infection and dysfunction rates.