Central venous catheter as vascular approach for hemodialysis - our experiences

Application of a central venous catheter (CVC), as a temporary or permanent vascular access for hemodialysis, has been continuous practice at the Sarajevo Pediatric Clinic, Department of Pediatric Intensive Care. The main goal of the article is to present our experiences with central venous catheters in the treatment of these patients.

In the period from January 2009 to December 2014 a total of 41 patients were treated and a total of 56 catheters were placed.

The results show the prevalence of the femoral venous catheter (69,64%), with significantly smaller participation of jugular (28,57%) and symbolic participation of subclavian catheters (1,78%). Frequency of infections of 8,92% in our article is lower than the percentage contained in the data of the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System, which provided data related to 17% of catheter related infections. The most common agents of the catheter related infections in our patients are gram-negative bacteria from the Klebsiella pneumoniae group.

The issue of the higher complication percentage during the treatment is linked with hemostasis related to bleeding into or around the catheters in 28,57% of patients, and to clotting disorder in terms of thrombosis in 10,71% of patients.