[Permanent vascular catheters for extracorporeal dialysis. Preliminary study: Canaud and Tesio catheters]

The use of alternative permanent vascular accesses has recently become increasingly common. The possibility of using the catheterization of central venous vessels has therefore been taken into consideration, in particular the internal jugular vein. During an observation period of 32 months the catheterization of the internal jugular vein (IJV) was used as a definitive access in 34 patients (12 M, 22 F; mean age 67.5, mean dialytic age 56 months in 18 patients, in 16 patients the insertion was by primary intention). A total of 44 IJV catheters were used, of which 18 Tesio and 26 Canaud. The authors examined the immediate complications following insertion and the episodes occurring during the observation period, including the problem of infection. The insertion of catheters was possible in all cases. In terms of catheter function, blood flow was adequate for the various purifying techniques. No severe complications were reported: gaseous embolism, pneumothorax, hemothorax, hemomediastinum. Infection was observed in 11 patients and 13 catheters, of which 70% were mainly provoked by Staphylococcus aureus and epidermidis. During the observation period there was a drop-out of 14 patients, 11 of whom died (3 following sepsis that failed to respond to antibiotic therapy). This preliminary experiment shows that permanent jugular catheters may be regarded as a valid access for hemodialytic treatment both in patients with severe problems of vascular access and for patients who present a short-term prognosis of dialysis and life expectancy at the time of starting hemodialysis.