[The complications of the use of hemodialysis catheters in central veins of the upper part of body--own experience]

Abstract

Catheters with the double lumen are commonly used in order to obtain the temporary access to circulation enabling hemodialysis in patients with renal failure. The placement of catheter in the central vein is not entirely safe procedure. Instead it involves the number of complications connected with both the insertion of catheter and leaving it in the vessel for a longer time. In 66 patients with renal failure the authors have analysed those complications which accompanied the catheterization of central veins. In those patients the temporary access to circulation was obtained by the puncture of jugular internal or subclavian vein. There were 21 men in the examined group at the age of 40-77 years (61 on average) and 45 women at the age of 26-78 years (57 on average). The obtained results were statistically analysed. It turned out that the complications appeared in 23 cases which was 36.4% of the examined group. The most frequent complications were infections (35%), thrombotic changes in the catheter lumen (35%) and haematoma or bleeding (21%). The incidence of infection, thrombotic changes and bleeding in the place of catheter insertion was similar in each of applied central accesses. However, the incidence of bleeding in the place of the insertion of catheter was significantly higher in patients with coagulation disorders.