247 National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2017 | Vol 7 | Issue 3 RESEARCH ARTICLE Intravenous catheter complications in hemodialysis Shyamala Kumari Volabailu 1 , Venu Gopala Delanthabettu 2 1 Department of Physiology, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India, 2 Department of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India Correspondence to: Shyamala Kumari Volabailu, E-mail: drshyamala@live.com Received: September 02, 2016; Accepted: September 21, 2016 ABSTRACT Background: Vascular access, still is a problem for hemodialysis. Venous catheters are commonly used for acute angioaccess during maintenance hemodialysis in acute renal failure and end-stage renal failure patients. However, the catheters are often complicated by mechanical or infectious complications which may result in morbidity and or premature removal of the catheter. Even though, there are various studies on central venous catheters used in hemodialysis in western countries less is documented in India. Aims and Objectives: Complications of intravenous catheter used during hemodialysis in our set up. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 110 patients selected by random sampling in dialysis units of a government district hospital from October 2014 to September 2015. Patient age, sex, history, type of kidney disease, and associated conditions were also noted according to the pro forma. Date of intravenous catheter insertion, site of insertion, and insertion complications were noted. All patients were followed up until the day of catheter removal. Date of catheter removal, reason for catheter removal, and duration of catheter days were noted. Data were collected and tabulated. Result: Only 47.8% of patients suspected with infections showed bacterial growth in catheter tip culture. However, blood culture showed bacterial growth only in 19.6% of infection suspected patients. Blood culture reported 55.6% Staphylococcus aureus growth followed by Pseudomonas (22.2%), Escherichia coli, and Acinetobacter (11.15%) growth in samples collected from infection suspected dialysis patients. Conclusion: Fever due to infections is the most common cause for catheter removal. KEY WORDS: Catheter Tip Culture; Blood Culture; Bacterial Growth; Hemodialysis; Staphylococcus Aureus INTRODUCTION Hemodialysis is a method of extracorporeal removal of waste products from blood and maintaining a regulation of the body fluids and chemical balances. Vascular access, still is a problem for hemodialysis. Except for a small number of patients who may have planned for End-stage renal diseases care earlier, almost all end-stage renal diseases patients require immediate/urgent dialysis, necessitating central venous catheterization for emergency vascular access. [1] Access this article online Website: www.njppp.com Quick Response code DOI: 10.5455/njppp.2017.7.0927021092016 National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology Online 2016. © 2016 Shyamala Kumari Volabailu and Venu Gopala Delanthabettu. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creative commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third partiesto copy and redistribute the materialin any medium or for mat and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. It can be achieved by temporary venous access or a permanent AV fistula. Hemodialysis access of <3 weeks duration should be obtained using a noncuffed or a cuffed double-lumen percutaneously inserted catheter. [2] Venous catheters are commonly used for acute angioaccess during maintenance hemodialysis in acute renal failure and end-stage renal failure patients. Temporary access is established by the percutaneous insertion of a catheter into a large vein. [3] Internal jugular, femoral or less desirable, and subclavian [4] are the most commonly selected ones. It is recommended that temporary femoral catheters remain in place for a maximum of 7 days and that internal jugular vein/ subclavian vein catheters remain in place for a maximum of 3 weeks. [4] However, the catheters are often complicated by mechanical or infectious complications which may result in morbidity National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology