Clinical and microbiological characterization of infection associated with the hemodialysis catheter

Abstract

Introduction: prevention of vascular access infection is essential for a better quality of life for chronic kidney patients. Objective: to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics in patients with vascular access infection in the hemodialysis service of the Dr. Abelardo Buch Lopez Institute of Nephrology in the period from January 2021 to June 2022. Material and method: observational, descriptive and transversal of patients with catheter infection. 139 patients made up the study population and 61 the sample. The variables were obtained from the medical records and Microbiology records. Descriptive statistics were used. Results: 61 patients had infection with an average age of 59.5 years, there was a predominance of males, high blood pressure as the most frequent etiology of CKD and stay on hemodialysis between 1 to 4 years. Indwelling catheters were the most used vascular access route. In the blood cultures performed, gram-positive bacteria were isolated (53.8%), the most frequent being methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with high sensitivity to Vancomycin, and among the gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa with resistance patterns that suggest the circulation of strains of carbapenemase producers. Conclusions: Infection related to the hemodialysis catheter is, accompanied by antimicrobial resistance, a problem in hemodialysis units that calls for increasing health surveillance of the processes involved and consolidating working alliances with the National Microbial Resistance Surveillance Laboratory.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, hemodialysis, infection, central venous catheter.