[Canaud central venous catheters: 4-year experience].

Background: The use of central venous catheters for permanent vascular access has become increasingly important because of the characteristics and the clinical problems of incident patients or patients already undergoing chronic hemodialysis. In this study a short and medium term evaluation was made of a double permanent central venous catheter positioned in the right internal jugular vein. The Canaud catheter was evaluated both from the point of view of practical use and for various technical and clinical problems.

Methods: During the observation period, July 1995 - September 1999, these catheters were used in 39 patients (mean age 72 years), 22 females and 17 males; 31% were diabetic patients and 46% were older than 75 years. Forty-five catheters were positioned with an average dwelltime of 347 days.

Results: Utilization was almost immediate and the resulting blood flow was suitable for all depurative techniques (blood flow more than 250 ml/min), with an average recirculation of 11.9% and an average resistance index of 0.54. Among the most serious complications during surgery a respiratory block was observed followed by the complete recovery of the patient. Some clinical complications were noted (5 venous thrombosis), as were some technical ones: 12% well as related to problems with the adapter, 24.3% to reversible thrombosis of the catheters occurred in 23 catheters in 22 patients. Infections.

Conclusions: Overall Canaud catheters appear to represent a valid alternative to other more recent catheters for permanent vascular access. If necessary, they can be easily substituted due to the absence of a subcutaneous cuff.