Systematic Review of atrial vascular access for dialysis catheter

Abstract Introduction The last decade has seen a steady increase worldwide in the prevalence of end stage renal disease. Hemodialysis is the major modality of renal replacement therapy in 70 to 90% of patients, who require well-functioning vascular access for this procedure. The recommended access for hemodialysis is an arteriovenous fistula or a vascular graft. However, recourse to central venous catheters remains essential for patients whose chronic renal disease is diagnosed at the end stage or in whom an arteriovenous fistula cannot be created or maintained. Tunneled dialysis catheter (TDC) exposure can induce venous stenosis and occlusions and result in superior vena cava syndrome and/or vascular access loss. Exhaustion of conventional vascular accesses is one of the greatest challenges that nephrologists and patients have to face. Several unconventional salvage-therapy routes for TDC placement in patients with exhausted upper body venous access have been reported in the literature. Methods We report two new cases of intra atrial TDC placement for patients with exhausted vascular access and make a meta-analysis of cases from the literature. Results 51 patients were included. The TDC was inserted by a cardiovascular surgeon in all cases. At the end of follow-up, 75% patients were alive. The median survival time was 25 months. Survival time of hemodialysis patients with intra atrial TDC was lower than that observed with conventional TDC. Conclusion This unconventional technique is safe and functional for hemodialysis patients with exhausted venous access. Atrial vascular access for TDC placement is salvage therapy and is therefore potentially lifesaving.