Antimicrobial lock solutions for preventing catheter-related infections in haemodialysis.

Background: Patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD) through a central venous catheter (CVC) are exposed to several risks, being a catheter-related infection (CRI) and a CVC lumen thrombosis among the most serious. Standard of care regarding CVCs includes their sealing with heparin lock solutions to prevent catheter lumen thrombosis. Other lock solutions to prevent CRI, such as antimicrobial lock solutions, have proven useful with antibiotics solutions, but not as yet for non-antibiotic antimicrobial solutions.

[Nurses' workload in hemodialysis units].

Background: Knowing nurses' workload in hemodialysis units allows a better organization of human resources.

Aim: To determine nurses' workload according to dependence and risk profiles of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

Material And Methods: One hundred fifty one patients from five hemodialysis units were selected and categorized in terms of dependence and risk using the instrument "Care according to dependence and risk in hemodialysis (CUDYR-DIAL).

[Depression and self-perceived burden of care by hemodialysis patients and their caregivers].

Objective: To determine the depressive symptoms, perceived social support, and self-perceived burden in chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients; identify depressive symptoms and degree of fatigue in caregivers of CHD patients; evaluate-in patients-the association between self-perceived burden and perceived social support, and between self-perceived burden and depressive symptoms; and evaluate-in caregivers-the relationship between the number of years of care and the degree of fatigue reached.

Methods: A sample of 162 patient-caregiver pairs was selected in which an adapted version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, along with the Self-perceived Burden Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Fatigue Severity Scale were applied. The instruments were administered to patients by trained research assistants and, in the case of the caregivers, were self-administered.