Conservative surgical management of catheter infections in children on peritoneal dialysis

Interventional nephrology in peritoneal dialysis: Best practice report of the Peritoneal Dialysis Project Group of the Italian Society of Nephrology

The procedure of peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter placement is of utmost importance for a good outcome of peritoneal dialysis. Currently, catheters are mainly placed by surgeons and interventional nephrologists. Still, there is a lack of trained personnel in many dialysis units, which can impair the efficiency of PD units and reduce the patients' possibility to enter a PD programme. The Italian Society of Nephrology has endorsed a practical core curriculum for interventional nephrology in PD available on the Society website, which is here reported for the wider nephrology community. The topics addressed are the hernias of the abdominal wall, catheter placement with standard surgical open technique, basic video-laparoscopy, advanced video-laparoscopy, video-laparoscopic cholecystectomy and catheter placement, cuff-shaving and video-laparoscopy in catheter malfunction.

The use of mini-invasive surgical techniques to treat refractory exit-site and tunnel infections in peritoneal dialysis patients: a clinical approach

Peritoneal dialysis-(PD) related infections continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients on PD. Although great advances have been made in the prevention and treatment of infectious complications over the past two decades, catheter-related infections represent a significant cause of technical failure in PD. Recent studies support the role of exit-site/tunnel infections in causing peritonitis. Peritonitis secondary to tunnel infection led to catheter loss in most cases. Thus, removing the catheter when exit-site/tunnel infection is refractory to medical therapy has been recommended. This approach requires interrupting PD and, after the placement of a central venous catheter, and transferring the patient to haemodialysis. In order to continue PD, simultaneous catheter removal and replacement of the PD catheter has been suggested. Although simultaneous catheter removal and replacement avoids temporary haemodialysis, it implies the removal/reinsertion of the catheter and the immediate initiation of PD with the risk of mechanical complications, such as leakage and malfunction. Hence, several mini-invasive surgical techniques, such as curettage, cuff-shaving, removal of the superficial cuff, and partial reimplantation of the catheter, have been proposed as rescue treatments. These procedures may allow the rescue of the catheter with a success rate of 70-100%. Therefore, in case of refractory exit-site/tunnel infection, a mini-invasive surgical revision should be considered before removing the catheter.

Are salvage techniques safe and effective in the treatment of peritoneal dialysis catheter-related exit-site and tunnel infections? A systematic review and description of the authors' preferred technique

BACKGROUND

Peritoneal dialysis catheter (PDC)-related infections account for significant morbidity, PD disruptions and costs. Patients with refractory exit-site or tunnel track infections without peritonitis may need catheter removal and reinsertion which can be complicated by bleeding, organ injury, catheter failure or malposition. Some patients may need to switch to haemodialysis in such a setting. An alternative is a salvage procedure. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of salvage techniques.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of PubMed, Medline and Scopus databases was performed from inception to December 2021 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. After a broad search, articles were stratified into two main categories for assessment: (1) cuff-shaving (CS) techniques and its variations of en-bloc resection (BR) and/or catheter diversion (CD) and (2) partial reimplantation with CD.

RESULTS

A total of 409 patients (445 salvage procedures) from 20 studies were included in analysis. Of 409 patients, 234 patients (57.2%) underwent 251 (56.4%) CS procedures and its variations, 163 patients (39.9%) underwent 182 (40.9%) partial PDC reimplantations with CD and 12 patients (2.7%) underwent local curettage. Overall PDC salvage rate after intervention was 73.2%. Overall PDC removal rate attributable to infection was 26.8%. Overall complication rate attributable to the procedures was 2.7%, with the most common complication being dialysate leakage (n = 10) followed by PDC laceration (n = 1) and subcutaneous haematoma (n = 1). We also included a description of our technique of BR of infected tissue, CS and CD. In a series of six patients, the PDC salvage rate was 83.3% and median PDC survival after intervention was 10 months.

CONCLUSION

PDC salvage techniques are relatively safe and provide reasonable catheter salvage rates in selected patients. Results of this review should lend weight to consideration of a salvage-first approach as an option in selected patients.

Port Pocket Infections: Hydrogel Reduces Time to Healing and Clinic Visits Compared with Iodoform Gauze

Pocket infections are an occasional complication of totally implanted central venous catheters. The purpose of this study was to compare the safety, efficacy, and efficiency of the use of hydrogel after port removal vs the conventional method of packed iodoform gauze. In a cohort of 31 patients, the hydrogel group (n = 13) healed significantly faster than the group treated with the conventional method (15.5 vs 26.8 d; P = .009) and required fewer scheduled clinic visits (1.2 vs 10.8; P < .001). There were no differences in complications. This study suggests that hydrogel effectively promotes healing of port pocket infections, with advantages over the established technique.

Catheter revision for the treatment of intractable exit site infection/tunnel infection in peritoneal dialysis patients: a single centre experience

AIM

Catheter-related infection is a major cause of catheter loss in peritoneal dialysis (PD). We evaluated the effect of catheter revision on the treatment of intractable exit site infection (ESI)/tunnel infection (TI) in PD patients who required catheter removal.

METHODS

We reviewed the medical records of 764 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients from May 1995 to April 2011 at our hospital. One hundred and twenty six patients had more than one occurrence of ESI. Catheter revision was performed to treat intractable ESI/TI. Incidence of ESI, causative organisms and the outcomes of catheter revision were analyzed.

RESULTS

The total PD duration of all patients was 32,581 months. Three hundred and twelve ESI episodes occurred in 126 patients and the incidence of ESI was 1/104 patient-months (0.12/patient-year). The most common causative organism was methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (98 episodes), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (63 episodes) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) (28 episodes). Among these, catheter revision was required due to intractable ESI/TI in 36 patients. The most common causative organism was MSSA (14 episodes) followed by P. aeruginosa (10 episodes) and MRSA (six episodes) in catheter revision cases. The outcomes of catheter revision were as follows: ESI relapsed in 11 patients (30.6%) after catheter revision. Among them, five patients were treated with antibiotic treatment, two patients required secondary catheter revision, four patients required catheter removal due to ESI/TI accompanying peritonitis. The catheter survival rate after catheter revision was 89.7% in one year. There were no statistical differences in the rates of ESI relapse after catheter revision between ESI caused by P. aeruginosa (5/10, 50%) and ESI caused by S.aureus (6/21, 28.6%).

CONCLUSION

Catheter revision may be an alternative treatment option to treat intractable ESI/TI before catheter removal is considered in PD patients.