A new vascular access catheter for hemodialysis.

A new vascular access catheter has been developed (Cook Critical Care, Bloomington, IN) that is suitable for both short-term and long-term hemodialysis. Designed primarily for the internal jugular vein, it emerges through a subcutaneous tunnel on the anterior chest wall. With parallel cylindrical lumens to provide blood flows of 400 mL/min, it is compressible during insertion and can be placed percutaneously in the vein through a 13-French peel-away sheath.