There is a controversy as to whether the number of lumens in the central venous catheters may impact the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infection. We performed a systematic search (MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, BIOSIS Previews, CINAHL, HealthSTAR/Ovid healthstar, bibliographies, any language, to April, 2003) for full reports on randomized comparisons of single-lumen ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Tunneled dialysis catheters are prone to frequent malfunction and infection. Catheter thrombosis occurs despite prophylactic anticoagulant locks. Catheter thrombi may also serve as a nidus for catheter infection, thereby increasing the risk of bacteremia. Thus, heparin coating of catheters may reduce thrombosis and infection. This study evaluated whether heparin-coated...

Rejection of catheters is generally thought to be due to patients pulling out their catheters, but we found circumstantial evidence for this in only one third of cases. Some catheters with smaller balloons drop out spontaneously, perhaps owing to laxity of the pelvic floor or urethral dilatation caused by repeated catheterisation, and others are expelled forcibly, presumably owing to uninhibite...

BACKGROUND With the increasing frequency of tunneled hemodialysis catheter use there is a parallel increase in the need for removal and/or exchange. A small but significant minority of catheters become embedded or 'stuck' and cannot be removed by traditional means. Management of embedded catheters involves cutting the catheter, burying the retained fragment with a subsequent increased risk of i...

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Difficulty in engaging with guide catheters is not uncommon in acute emergencies. We aimed to evaluate the use of Cordis® INFINITI diagnostic catheters to perform angioplasty in patients in whom the coronaries cannot be engaged using standard guide catheters. METHODS In 34 cases of acute coronary syndrome, when difficulty in engagement with two standard guide catheters w...

background catheterization of central veins is a routine technique which is widely used in general hospitals and medical intensive care units. it should be carefully performed and managed to prevent adverse side effects. case presentation in this case report, we describe a case of lost guide wire during central venous catheterization, which was successfully treated with a minimally invasive sur...

regardless of the clinical setting, a good back-up represents one of the most important conditions to ensure guide wire and balloon advancement and stent delivery. as a “mother and child” system, the guideliner catheter (vascular solutions inc., minneapolis, mn, usa) provides an extension to the guide catheter with better coaxial alignment and stability. we report two didactic cases showing the...

OBJECTIVE Peripheral arterial catheters are perceived as having low infective potential compared with other catheters and may be overlooked as a cause of catheter-related bloodstream infection. We aimed to measure colonization and rates of catheter-related bloodstream infection in arterial catheters, to investigate risk factors for arterial catheter colonization, and to compare arterial cathete...

OBJECTIVES To examine the effectiveness of antimicrobial-impregnated and heparin-bonded catheters relative to standard central venous catheters in lessening catheter-related bloodstream infections. DATA SOURCES Articles were identified by computer-assisted searching. STUDY SELECTION Studies were eliminated from further consideration if they did not contain original data relevant to lessenin...