Factors affecting long-term survival of tunnelled haemodialysis catheters—a prospective audit of 812 tunnelled catheters

摘要

Background. In 2001, in the US, 23% of haemodialysis patients were dialysing through tunnelled venous catheters (TVCs), and in the UK (2006) there were 28% of prevalent patients using catheters. It is unlikely that numbers will significantly decrease.