Background: Until now, the survival of iliac vein tunneled cuffed catheters (TCCs) used in elderly patients has not been fully investigated. Accordingly, we evaluated their use in elderly hemodialysis patients with no other venous access options.
Methods: A total of 70 elderly patients with iliac vein TCCs undergoing chronic hemodialysis were included in this study. Patients' baseline anthropometric and laboratory parameters were measured. Incidence of catheter dysfunction and of catheter-related infection was documented.
Results: During the study period, a total of 99 new tunneled dialysis catheters were placed. Technical success rate was 100 %. Median infection-free survival and dysfunction-free survival after catheterization was 617 and 875 catheter days, respectively. Mean survival time per catheter was 1067 catheter days, corresponding to a total observation period of 65369 catheters days.
Conclusions: Iliac TCC is both technically feasible and effective for hemodialysis in elderly patients with no other venous access options.
Keywords: Elderly patients; Hemodialysis; Iliac tunneled cuffed catheter.