Prevalence of infections and antimicrobial use among hemodialysis outpatients: A prospective multicenter study

Abstract

Hemodialysis patients are vulnerable to infectious diseases and frequent receipt of antimicrobial agents. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and characteristics of infections and antimicrobials use among hemodialysis outpatients. We utilized the dialysis event surveillance protocol developed by the National Healthcare Safety Network to conduct a prospective multicenter study in Anhui, China. A total of 41 dialysis centers involving 7393 outpatients were included. Fistula was the most common type of vascular access (85.3%), followed by tunneled central line (12.7%), and non‐tunneled central line (1.2%). There were 118 dialysis events with an overall pooled events rate of 1.60 per 100 patient‐months. Intravenous antimicrobial start, positive blood culture, and pus, redness, or increased swelling at the vascular access site were detected at rates of 0.91, 0.23, and 0.46 per 100 patient‐months, respectively. The prevalence of dialysis events was commonly higher in patients with a central line, and lower in patients with a fistula. Hemodialysis outpatients also had the noteworthy risks of nonaccess infections. Older age, female gender, and having a central line were associated with the increased risk of dialysis events. Findings recommend that regular monitoring and improvement strategies are warranted in management of infections among hemodialysis outpatients.

Potential Risks for and Prognoses After Infections and Antimicrobial use Among Hemodialysis Outpatients: A Prospective Study

“…Contaminated water, equipment, or environmental surfaces present during treatment could be the sources of infections [4]. vascular access for HD carry the infection risks; arteriovenous stulas, arteriovenous grafts, and central venous catheters (CVCs) could cause the increasing risk of infections [5,6]. Antibiotics are commonly used to HD patients, which could lead to resistance to the antimicrobial agents and multidrugresistant organisms.…”