Effect of insertion site on tunnelled haemodialysis catheter outcomes: an observational study of 967 catheters

BackgroundThe right internal jugular vein is the preferred approach to tunnelled haemodialysis catheter placement. However, the effect of the insertion site on long-term catheter outcomes remains uncertain. AimsWe aimed to analyse a large cohort of tunnelled haemodialysis catheter placements to compare short-term and long-term results according to central venous catheter location. MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed on consecutive tunnelled catheter insertions at two centres over 7 years. The primary outcome was catheter survival, compared according to the central vein site. We used the Kaplan-Meier curve method and Cox proportional hazards modelling to determine the effect of the catheterisation route on primary patency, adjusted for clinical risk factors for catheter failure. ResultsThere were 967 tunnelled dialysis catheter placements in 620 patients. The median survival for right internal jugular vein catheters was 569 days. There were no differences in rates of catheter failure between right internal jugular, left internal jugular (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52-1.21), external jugular (HR, 0.79; CI, 0.33-3.13), subclavian (HR, 0.67; CI, 0.58-2.44) and femoral vein (HR, 1.20; CI, 0.36-1.33) catheters following multivariable analysis. There were no major differences in functionality or complications between the groups. ConclusionsThis study identified no statistically significant relationship between tunnelled haemodialysis catheter insertion site and catheter survival. The contemporary approach to dialysis vascular access should be tailored to specific patient circumstances.