Opt for Right-Sided Internal Jugular Tunneled Dialysis Catheters

ORLANDO, Fla.—In patients selected for placement of a tunneled dialysis catheter (TDC), right internal jugular vein placement should be used preferentially to maximize catheter survival, according to a study presented at the NKF 2013 Spring Clinical Meetings.

Using a database of vascular access data, researchers led by Roman Shingarev, MD, and colleagues at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Ala., identified 472 patients receiving a TDC for the first time. They used multiple variable survival analysis to identify clinical factors associated with the rate of survival and infection.

Median survival of all TDCs was 202 days and median time to the first infection was 163 days. Left-sided internal jugular placement of the TDC was the only factor significantly associated with a reduced rate of TDC survival. None of the clinical factors were associated with infection, according to investigators.