Haemodialysis Patients and Central Venous Catheter-Related Infections

Abstract

It is known that catheters have been applied to more than half of the patients who have been hospitalized. Central venous catheters (CVCs) are necessary for the patients who need haemodialysis with acute renal failure (ARF) and çhronic renal failure (CRF). Catheter related sepsis (CRS), causes prolonged hospital stay increases hospital costs and especially mortality among patients whom CVC is applied. A prospective study was planned in order to find the epidemiological features and causative microorganisms of CVC related infections in patients who were hospitalized and applied CVC for haemodialysis at Cumhuriyet University Hospital, the Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases between October 1994 and September 1996. In this two years period totally 106 patients (25 ARF and 81 CRF) and 129 CVCs applied to these patients were followed. Forty-five (38.7%) of them were female, 65 (61.3%) were male, and mean age was 49 (SD= 16.3, min: 15, max= 94) years. Mean CVC period was 14.1 (SD= 8.7, min= 2, max= 53) days and the patients were undergone haemodialysis 3.2 times weekly. In this two year follow up period 48 (37.2%) CRS, and 33 (25.6%) tip culture positivity of catheters were observed. The most commonly isolated microorganisms were coagulase negative staphylococci from catheter tips and blood cultures (58%). It was detected that 4 (3.8%) patients had died for CRS. Overall mortality rate was 19.8%.

Keywords

• Haemodialysis
• Central venous catheter
• Catheter-related infections