Pro: Vascular access surveillance in mature fistulas: is it worthwhile?

Guidelines recommend regular screening of mature arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) for preemptive repair of significant stenosis (≥50% lumen reduction) at high risk of thrombosis, identifiable from clinical signs of access dysfunction (monitoring) or by measuring access blood flow (Qa surveillance), which also enables stenosis detection in functional accesses. To compare the value of Qa surveillance versus monitoring, a meta-analysis was performed on the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the two screening strategies. It emerged that correcting stenosis identified by Qa surveillance significantly halved the risk of thrombosis [relative risk (RR) = 0.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35-0.73] and access loss (RR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.28-0.80) in comparison with intervention prompted by clinical signs of access dysfunction. One small RCT aiming to identify an optimal Qa threshold showed that stenosis repair at Qa >500 mL/min produced a significant 3-fold reduction in the risk of thrombosis (RR = 0.37, 95% CI 0.12-0.97) and access loss (RR = 0.36, 95% CI 0.09-0.99) in comparison with intervening when Qa dropped to <400 mL/min as per guidelines. To test the real-world benefits of Qa surveillance, the expected RCT-based thrombosis and access loss rates with Qa surveillance were compared with the rates with monitoring reported in observational studies: the expected thrombosis and access loss rates with surveillance were only lower than with monitoring when a Qa >500 mL/min was considered (2.4, 95% CI 1.0-4.6 and 2.2, 95% CI 0.7-5.0 versus 9.4, 95% CI 7.4-11.3 and 10.3, 95% CI 7.7-13.4 events per 100 AVFs-year, P ≤ 0.024), suggesting that in clinical practice adopting Qa surveillance may only be worthwhile at centres with high thrombosis and access loss rates associated with monitoring, and adopting Qa thresholds >500 mL/min for elective stenosis repair.

Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: Improved Outcomes and Reduced Costs Through Identification of Catheter Malfunction.

INTRODUCTION: Two patients previously implanted with intrathecal Baclofen (ITB) pumps for management of intractable spasticity due to multiple sclerosis (MS) were referred to our center for ongoing management of their spasticity. Initial evaluation of these patients revealed high levels of spasticity in the presence of ITB doses 10 times the average daily dose of our other MS patients. CLINICAL FACTS: High doses of ITB required frequent clinical visits and result in high drug and procedure costs. Both patients' daily doses were greater than 1000 mcg/day resulting in clinical visits every 1-2 months with drug and procedure costs ranging from 16 to 23 thousand dollars annually based on Medicare national average pricing for physician's office. Of the 59 MS patients receiving ITB therapy at our institution, the mean, median, and mode daily doses for ITB are 184, 115, and 159 mcg/day, respectively. The high ITB doses in these patients and poor spasticity control raised suspicion for pump/catheter malfunction and prompted immediate troubleshooting. FINDINGS: One patient's catheter was found to be disconnected from the pump and the other's catheter tip was outside the intrathecal space. In both cases, the patients were not receiving the therapy. After pump/catheter replacement, both patients received excellent clinical benefits from ITB at significantly lower daily doses. This reduction in dose resulted in decreased frequency of medication refills (twice annually) which resulted in decreased cost of care (12-19 thousand dollars savings annually per patient). DISCUSSION: These cases illustrate the need for early ITB pump troubleshooting to identify catheter problems, improve efficacy, and avoid unnecessary healthcare costs.

Hemodialysis Catheter Care: Identifying Best Cleansing Agents.

In an attempt to create a standardized resource for cleansing both non-tunneled and tunneled hemodialysis catheters, it was discovered that all disinfectants are not compatible with all catheters. This article describes the process used to identify best practices for hemodialysis catheter care and steps taken to standardize practice throughout a hospital network. Standardized evidence-based practice preserves the integrity of catheters while allowing nurses to provide quality care to patients.

A laparoscopic approach to ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement with a novel fixation method for distal shunt catheter in the treatment of hydrocephalus.

BACKGROUND: The laparoscopically assisted ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt has been widely used in the clinical treatment of hydrocephalus for its simplicity and reliability. Despite significant improvements in shunt procedures, shunt complications remain common. Our clinical experiences suggest that the fixation of the distal (peritoneal) shunt catheter using threads and hemoclips may partially contribute to complications of the distal shunt including obstruction of the shunt and infection. In this study, we explored a novel fixation method in the laparoscopically assisted VP shunt with use of the liver falciform ligament as a natural support for fixation of the distal shunt catheter. METHODS: 10 patients with hydrocephalus underwent laparoscopically assisted VP shunt and the distal shunt catheter was placed into the hepatodiaphragmatic space and the catheter was traversed through 2-3 drilled holes in the liver falciform ligament without using any artificial material for fixation. RESULTS: In all the patients who received surgery with the adopted new procedure the clinical symptoms were alleviated. The size of cerebral ventricles returned to normal after 1 week. The distal catheters were in the hepatodiaphragmatic space in 9 of 10 patients, while in 1 patient it migrated to the peritoneal cavity underneath the liver. All the 9 patients were followed up for 1 year and no surgery-related catheter obstructions and infections were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The modified laparoscopically assisted VP shunt in the treatment of hydrocephalus with fixation of the distal shunt catheter to a natural anatomic structure could potentially reduce the necessity of repeat surgery for addressing the complications caused by catheter obstruction and infections, reduce the chance of adhesions, and would be of benefit to those patients who need future revisions.

Vascular Access Device Care and Management: A Comprehensive Organizational Approach.

The Infusion Nurses Society asserts that a comprehensive organizational approach to vascular access device (VAD) care and management is imperative to ensure safe and efficacious patient care. It is essential that each organization (1) develops policies and procedures to align VAD care and management with recognized standards of practice; (2) integrates unique aspects of organization-selected VAD care products into policies and procedures and establishes expectations for adherence to these organizational directives; (3) develops a framework for gathering and analyzing clinical data related to patient outcomes for VAD care and management; (4) utilizes quality outcome data to facilitate evidence-based best practices within the organization; and (5) evaluates and facilitates educational programming to validate clinician competency.

Hand hygiene and needleless connector decontamination for peripheral intravenous catheter care-time and motion observational study.

Good hand hygiene and "scrub the hub" practices are important to prevent bloodstream infections. This observational study (n = 108) found high compliance with "scrubbing the hub," although scrub time was shorter than the recommended duration (average 6.1 seconds). Compliance with hand hygiene before medication preparation (33%) and before medication administration (43%) showed room for improvement compared with postadministration (65%), the emergency setting and glove use were associated with poorer compliance (P < .01).

Mounting device for external cerebrospinal fluid drainage: the Freiburg Stativ.

BACKGROUND: External drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is one of the most common neurosurgical procedures. It is important to maintain a stable drainage rate, but with the commonly available mountings for CSF drainage this can be difficult to achieve. The drainage rate is dependent on the height-difference between the CSF space and the drip chamber of the device. Most mountings for open CSF drainage cannot be satisfactorily fixed at the bed of the patient; especially if the head of the bed is moved, there is a risk of over- or underdrainage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have therefore constructed a mounting for open CSF drainage which allows appropriate adjustment of the rate of CSF outflow, even if the patient's head part of the bed is moved. FINDINGS: The device was easily mountable or exchangeable at any hospital bed and served equally well for ventricular or for lumbar drainage. CONCLUSION: We think that this device can help to reduce serious complication of over- or underdrainage in external CSF drainage.

[Long-term intravenous devices, continuity of care from the specialist doctor to the nurse]. / Gestion des risques des dispositifs intraveineux de longue durée.

Long-term intravenous devices have become an essential tool in the treatment of patients requiring the administration of medication over more than one month. The choice of device must be established through consultation between the nursing team and the patient. Several types of complications can be observed immediately after the insertion of the device and during treatment. Protocols in the community and at hospital are therefore necessary in order that doctors, nurses, specialists and experts work together. Clinical and translational research should enable the incidence of certain complications, notably infections and thrombosis, to be further reduced.

A new Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network protocol to reduce cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection.

OBJECT In a previous report by the same research group (Kestle et al., 2011), compliance with an 11-step protocol was shown to reduce CSF shunt infection at Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network (HCRN) centers (from 8.7% to 5.7%). Antibiotic-impregnated catheters (AICs) were not part of the protocol but were used off protocol by some surgeons. The authors therefore began using a new protocol that included AICs in an effort to reduce the infection rate further. METHODS The new protocol was implemented at HCRN centers on January 1, 2012, for all shunt procedures (excluding external ventricular drains [EVDs], ventricular reservoirs, and subgaleal shunts). Procedures performed up to September 30, 2013, were included (21 months). Compliance with the protocol and outcome events up to March 30, 2014, were recorded. The definition of infection was unchanged from the authors' previous report. RESULTS A total of 1935 procedures were performed on 1670 patients at 8 HCRN centers. The overall infection rate was 6.0% (95% CI 5.1%-7.2%). Procedure-specific infection rates varied (insertion 5.0%, revision 5.4%, insertion after EVD 8.3%, and insertion after treatment of infection 12.6%). Full compliance with the protocol occurred in 77% of procedures. The infection rate was 5.0% after compliant procedures and 8.7% after noncompliant procedures (p = 0.005). The infection rate when using this new protocol (6.0%, 95% CI 5.1%-7.2%) was similar to the infection rate observed using the authors' old protocol (5.7%, 95% CI 4.6%-7.0%). CONCLUSIONS CSF shunt procedures performed in compliance with a new infection prevention protocol at HCRN centers had a lower infection rate than noncompliant procedures. Implementation of the new protocol (including AICs) was associated with a 6.0% infection rate, similar to the infection rate of 5.7% from the authors' previously reported protocol. Based on the current data, the role of AICs compared with other infection prevention measures is unclear.

[Postoperative nursing care of patients submitted to thoracoabdominal aortic surgery]. / Cuidados de enfermagem no pós-operatório do doente submetido a cirurgia da aorta toraco-abdominal.

Patients who underwent surgery of the thoracoabdominal aorta require, in the post-operative period, special nursing care, related to the specificity and complexity of the disease and surgical procedure. This paper is aimed at to describe the nurse's experience of the Intensive Care Unit of the Vascular Surgical Department at Santa Maria Hospital in the management of these critical patients.

The impact of training on outcomes in primary vascular access surgery.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that the outcome of arteriovenous fistula surgery is dependent on the surgeon performing the operation. Vascular access surgery provides excellent technical training for surgical trainees. The effect of surgical trainees on the outcome of fistulas was evaluated. METHODS: The grade of the main operator for all first attempted (primary) upper limb arteriovenous fistulas, between February 1998 and August 2001, was identified. Median follow-up was 18.0 months (IQR, 6.5-30.1 months). Successful use of fistula for dialysis, fistula patency and survival were assessed. RESULTS: 441 primary fistulas were formed in the study period. Median age was 67.5 years (IQR, 54.0-75.2 years). 71% of all fistulas were formed at the wrist. Trainees performed 31.1% of all operations. The two groups (trainees and consultants) were well matched for age, sex, diabetes, and fistula type. Only 70.5% of patients proceeded to long-term haemodialysis. There were no significant differences in the successful use of AVF for dialysis or patency rates between the two groups. One and two year fistula survival in this group was 87.7% and 78.3% for trainees and 80.8% and 71.1% for consultants (P = 0.288 log rank). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical trainees can perform primary AVF surgery without significantly reducing fistula outcomes. Vascular access surgery can be utilised as a training operation.

Lessons learned. Implementing a vascular access quality improvement program. Part II.

Implementing a CQI program for vascular access can seem an overwhelming task. It encompasses many areas that are not in the nephrologists' or dialysis facilities' control. However, involving the right multidisciplinary team members in the process and aligning the goals and objectives creates an environment conducive to success. Ongoing communication is critical. Everyone needs to be a part of the change process.

Evaluation of the conformity of assistential practice in the maintenance of the temporary double-lumen dialysis catheter / Avaliação da conformidade da prática assistencial de manutenção do cateter temporário duplo lúmen para hemodiálise / Evaluación de la conformidad de la práctica asistencial de mantenimiento del catéter temporario duplo lumen para hemodiálisis

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the conformity of the assistential practice in the maintenance of the temporary double-lumen catheter for hemodialysis, by means of the use of the process indicator, in the University Hospital of the University of São Paulo. METHOD: a quantitative, exploratory-descriptive and observational study. The sample was made up of 155 observations of persons with temporary double-lumen catheters, in the period March - November 2011, using the Indicator of the Maintenance of the Temporary Double Lumen Catheter for Hemodialysis. RESULTS: the rate of general conformity of the assistential practice corresponded to 65.8%. Of the practice's 13 components, 9 (69.2%) attained 100% conformity. The hygienization of hands by the professionals and the use of a mask by the patients during the disconnection from the hemodialysis had the worst rates (83.9%). CONCLUSION: although the actions evaluated are implemented in the unit, it is necessary to propose and apply educational strategies with the health team, as well as to institute periodical assessments, so as to raise the conformity rates, ensuring the quality of the hemodialysis services. .

OBJETIVO: avaliar a conformidade da prática assistencial de manutenção do cateter temporário duplo lúmen para hemodiálise, por meio do emprego do indicador de processo, no Hospital Universitário da Universidade de São Paulo. MÉTODO: estudo quantitativo, exploratório-descritivo, observacional. A casuística compôs-se de 155 observações de portadores de cateter temporário de duplo lúmen, no período de março a novembro de 2011, empregando-se o Indicador de Manutenção do Cateter Temporário Duplo Lúmen para Hemodiálise. RESULTADOS: o índice da conformidade geral da prática assistencial correspondeu a 65,8%. Dos 13 componentes da prática, 9 (69,2%) atingiram 100% de conformidade. A higiene das mãos pelo profissional e o uso de máscara pelo paciente, na desconexão da hemodiálise, apresentaram os piores índices (83,9%). CONCLUSÃO: embora as ações avaliadas estejam implementadas na unidade, há necessidade de propor e aplicar estratégias educativas à equipe de saúde, bem como instituir avaliações periódicas, no sentido de elevar os índices de conformidade garantindo a qualidade dos serviços na hemodiálise. .

OBJETIVO: evaluar la conformidad de la práctica asistencial de mantenimiento del catéter temporario duplo lumen para hemodiálisis, por medio del empleo del indicador de proceso, en el Hospital Universitario de la Universidad de Sao Paulo. MÉTODO: estudio cuantitativo, exploratorio descriptivo y observacional. La casuística se compuso de 155 observaciones de portadores de catéter temporario de duplo lumen, en el período de marzo a noviembre de 2011, empleándose el Indicador de Mantenimiento del Catéter Temporario Duplo Lumen para Hemodiálisis. RESULTADOS: el índice de la conformidad general de la práctica asistencial correspondió a 65,8%. De los 13 componentes de la práctica, 9 (69,2%) alcanzaron 100% de conformidad. La higiene de las manos por el profesional y el uso de máscara por el paciente en la desconexión de la hemodiálisis, presentaron los peores índices (83,9%). CONCLUSIÓN: a pesar de que las acciones evaluadas estén implementadas en la unidad, existe la necesidad de proponer y aplicar estrategias educativas al equipo de salud, así como instituir evaluaciones periódicas, en el sentido de elevar los índices de conformidad garantizando la calidad de los servicios en la hemodiálisis. .