Tunnelled haemodialysis catheter and haemodialysis outcomes: a retrospective cohort study in Zagreb, Croatia

• Published in: BMJ open 2016-01, Vol.6 (5), p.e009757-e009757
• Main Authors: Pašara, Vedran, Maksimović, Bojana, Gunjača, Mihaela, Mihovilović, Karlo, Lončar, Andrea, Kudumija, Boris, Žabić, Igor, Knotek, Mladen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical - mortality; Catheterization, Central Venous - adverse effects; Catheters; Catheters, Indwelling - adverse effects; Croatia - epidemiology; Data collection; Female; Hemodialysis; Hospitals; Humans; Jugular Veins; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Kidney diseases; Kidney Failure, Chronic - mortality; Kidney Failure, Chronic - physiopathology; Kidney Failure, Chronic - therapy; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Multivariate analysis; Patients; Renal Dialysis - methods; Renal Dialysis - mortality; Renal Medicine; Retrospective Studies; Studies; Survival Analysis; Veins & arteries
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009757

ObjectivesStudies have reported that the tunnelled dialysis catheter (TDC) is associated with inferior haemodialysis (HD) patient survival, in comparison with arteriovenous fistula (AVF). Since many cofactors may also affect survival of HD patients, it is unclear whether the greater risk for survival arises from TDC per se, or from associated conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine, in a multivariate analysis, the long-term outcome of HD patients, with respect to vascular access (VA).DesignRetrospective cohort study.ParticipantsThis retrospective cohort study included all 156 patients with a TDC admitted at University Hospital Merkur, from 2010 to 2012. The control group consisted of 97 patients dialysed via AVF. The groups were matched according to dialysis unit and time of VA placement. The site of choice for the placement of the TDC was the right jugular vein. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was used to assess patient survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to determine independent variables associated with patient survival.Primary outcome measuresPatient survival with respect to VA.ResultsThe cumulative 1-year survival of patients who were dialysed exclusively via TDC was 86.4% and of those who were dialysed exclusively via AVF, survival was 97.1% (p=0.002). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, male sex and older age were independently negatively associated with the survival of HD patients, while shorter HD vintage before the creation of the observed VA, hypertensive renal disease and glomerulonephritis were positively associated with survival. TDC was an independent risk factor for survival of HD patients (HR 23.0, 95% CI 6.2 to 85.3).ConclusionTDC may be an independent negative risk factor for HD patient survival.