Identification of central venous hemodialysis catheter-related infection by a semiquantitative culture method.

Background: Central venous hemodialysis catheter-related infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the hemodialysis (HD) population. Due to an impaired immune response, symptoms and signs of infection may not be obvious, and thus bacteremia is often diagnosed and treated protractedly. In contrast, induction of the acute phase response is frequently observed in HD patients even without infection.