Hemodialysis Catheter Design and Catheter Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Initial Clinical Experience: Symmetric-Tip Dialysis Catheter with Helical Flow Characteristics Improves Patient Outcomes

“…In a Cox model of catheter failure, the Ash Split Cath catheter was associated with 13.3 times the risk of failure requiring exchange or removal compared with the VectorFlow catheter (P ¼ .004). Unlike earlier randomized clinical trials in which tunneled catheters were placed only through the right internal jugular vein (5)(6)(7)17), the patients in the present series underwent tunneled catheter placement from bilateral internal jugular, external jugular, and femoral approaches. This reflects a real-world clinical experience with a cohort of patients who were representative of current clinical practice, in whom the right internal jugular vein may not be available for catheter insertion.…”

“…Commercially available catheter tip designs have usually included steptip and split-tip configurations. In the past decade, symmetric-tip catheters have become widely used alternatives to these conventional configurations because of their ease of placement and the evidence of decreased recirculation during reversal of the arterial and venous lumens during dialysis (4)(5)(6). In late 2014, the VectorFlow catheter (Teleflex, Wayne, Pennsylvania; Fig 1), a new symmetric-tip catheter, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.…”

Effect of ultra‐low dose and standard heparin locks on early tunnelled dialysis catheter outcomes in low‐risk dialysis patients

“…A recent randomized controlled trial by Van Der Meersch et al . showed a lower incidence of malfunction amongst Palindrome compared with Hemostar TDCs though overall patency was comparable …”

How arteriovenous grafts could help to optimize vascular access management

“…In recent years catheter design and care have improved . Catheter‐associated bacterial infection and sepsis have been the Achilles heel of catheters, whether they be temporary or more permanent tunneled .…”

“…Attention to cannulation can improve AVF and AVG access survival but not clear if it can improve infection risks . Even for catheters, design and care protocols have led to improvements in the past few years; catheter‐related bacteremia have fallen by over 70% with antibiotic locks . If one takes infection control out of the picture, how do AVG compare with AVF?…”