A single institutional experience of conversion of non-tunneled to tunneled hemodialysis catheters: a comparison to de novo placement.

Purpose: To compare the outcomes of conversion of non-tunneled to tunneled hemodialysis catheters with de novo placement of tunneled catheters and to determine the effect of time to conversion of non-tunneled to tunneled catheters on the incidence of complications.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective data analyses was performed on 1,154 patients who had de novo placement of tunneled hemodialysis catheters (control group) and 254 patients who underwent conversion of non-tunneled to tunneled catheters (study group). The outcomes including technical complications, infection, and catheter dysfunction were compared between the two groups.