Recirculación de la sangre durante la sesión de hemodiálisis en el catéter tunelizado PalindromeTM

Abstract

One of the most frequent problems we find when using tunnelled venous catheters as vascular access for haemodialysis is a shortfall in blood flow, making it necessary to invert the circuit lines in order to continue the session. Aware that this can increase recirculation and lead to a decreased quality of the technique, researchers have designed a new catheter model to avoid blood recirculation as much as possible.
This is the type of catheter currently used with our patients; because of this and the scarcity of studies published on these new catheters with regard to this matter, we carried out a study to calculate the percentage recirculation of these catheters, both with circuit lines in normal position and in inverted position. We calculated this percentage by analysing the determination of urea in serum, in 4 blood samples drawn weekly, with the haemodialysis circuit lines in both positions, and we applied the recirculation formula:
R = (BUN A2-BUNA1/BUN A2-BUN V)x100
Based on the results obtained we can conclude that the percentage of blood recirculation in these catheters is practically the same with the circuit lines in each position, and the figures obtained were more than acceptable to achieve a good quality of haemodialysis, according to the parameters recommended by the spanish nefrology society vascular access guidelines.