BACKGROUND The use of central venous catheters as a source of vascular access in patients undergoing hemodialysis may be complicated by thrombosis. Frequently, thrombolytics are used in an attempt to reestablish blood flow through partially or completely occluded catheters. OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of alteplase (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator) versus urokinase in reestablis...

BACKGROUND Tunneled catheters are becoming increasingly used as a permanent dialysis access. Easy way of insertion and good long-term patency make them competitive to fistulas in some groups of patients. METHODS Late complications and survival of 180 tunneled catheters inserted from June 2010 to December 2013 in 171 unselected hemodialysis patients were analyzed. RESULTS The cumulative time...

Candida biofilms on indwelling devices are an increasing problem in patients treated at intensive care units. The goal of this study was to examine the occurrence and frequency of these biofilms. A total of 172 catheters were collected from 105 male and 67 female patients (the age range of both patient groups was from 3 weeks to 98 years old). The catheters were incubated on blood agar plates a...

The ability of bacteria to colonize catheters is a major cause of infection. In the current study, catheters were surface-modified with MgF(2) nanoparticles (NPs) using a sonochemical synthesis protocol described previously. The one-step synthesis and coating procedure yielded a homogenous MgF(2) NP layer on both the inside and outside of the catheter, as analyzed by high resolution scanning el...

Cuffed catheters, although not ideal for long-term use, are now used more frequently due to an increase in the aging population, in whom the vessels are not suitable for either arteriovenous fistulas or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts. Infections and thrombosis remain the major causes for removal or change of catheters. We recently identified eight catheter defects that required replaceme...