Vascular access for hemodialysis in Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital

Good vascular access is an essential component for hemodialysis (HD). Studies in patterns of vascular accesses used for HD are very few. Eighty two (male 55, female 27) patients attending HD unit of Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NMCTH) over a period of one year were enrolled for the study. Average age was 46.12 years. Seventy four patients (90.0%) were suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) 5 and 8 (10.0%) patients had acute renal failure. Initial vascular access used was temporary vascular access in 76 (93.0%) and arteriovenous (AV) fistula in 6 (7.0%) patients. As a first temporary vascular access femoral catheterization was used in 54 (66.0%) patients followed by subclavian and internal jugular vein catheterization in 18 (22.0%) and 4 (5.0%) respectively. Fever was observed in 9 (11.0%) patients with first temporary access. There was no complication in 65 (79.0%) cases. Other complications were poor flow, malposition, infection, thrombosis, aneurysm and self removal of catheter. Only 47 patients were analyzed for the second vascular access. Trends towards use of second vascular access was subclavian and internal jugular vein cannulation in 20 (42.5%) and 10 (21.3%) respectively, AV fistula in 13 (27.7%), and femoral catheterization in 4 (8.5%). Second vascular access was associated with fever in 7 (14.9%) and limb swelling in 1 (2.1%). Temporary vascular access was the most common access to initiate HD in CKD 5. Only 7.0% of the patient had AV fistula to start HD. Femoral vein catheterization was the most commonly used first temporary vascular access. Complications with the vascular accesses were negligible.