Survival and Clinical Outcomes of Tunneled Central Jugular and Femoral Catheters in Prevalent Hemodialysis Patients.

BACKGROUND: The literature on the outcomes of tunneled femoral catheters compared to that of jugular catheters is scarce and derived mainly from small cohorts.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seven hundred and sixty six catheters were placed in 673 hemodialysis patients, 622 in the jugular/subclavian veins and 144 in the femoral veins. Patients were followed prospectively for 36 months.

RESULTS: The survival of the tunneled catheters was 771 days 95% CI (737-805) for jugular and 660 days 95% CI (582-739) for femoral veins. Blood flow (0.292 ± 0.003 L/min) and infection rate (0.25 × 1,000 days/catheter) were similar for upper and lower extremities vascular accesses. Factors including sex, age, diabetes and previous catheters did not affect the outcome.

CONCLUSIONS: Femoral catheters provide outstanding vascular access with excellent, function and low risk of infection.