A Retrospective Quality Study of Hemodialysis Catheter-Related Bacteremia in a Danish Hospital

Background: Hemodialysis catheter-related bacteremia (HD CRB) is a major complication of long-term hemodialysis (HD) therapy and bacteremia is secondary only to cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death in patients receiving renal replacement therapy. A large part may be preventable and surveillance is a critical aspect of infection control and prevention. Aim: To analyze incidence, causative species, and treatment of HD CRB in adult chronic HD patients at Nordsjaellands Hospital (NOH), Denmark. Methods: All episodes of bacteremia in the Department of Cardiology, Nephrology and Endocrinology (KNEA), NOH from 2010 to 2013 were analyzed. Inclusion criteria: Adult chronic HD patients with a tunneled dialysis catheter diagnosed with HD CRB. Causative microorganism and antimicrobial treatment were recorded for each episode. Findings: Ninetynine episodes of HD CRB in 72 patients were found with a mean incidence rate of 0.9/1000 catheter-days. Gram-positive bacteria were isolated in 71% of the episodes, gram-negative bacteria in 25%, both in 3%, and yeast in 1%. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus (33%), Coagulase-negative staphylococci (29%), enterobacteriaceae (20%) and enterococci (8%). The most commonly used empiric antimicrobials were cefuroxime and vancomycin and the overall efficacy was 77%. Conclusion: The well-functioning infection prevention strategy seems to be successful resulting in a relatively low incidence rate of HD CRB compared with that shown in international studies. The high proportion of gram-negative bacteria raises the question as to whether future antimicrobial guidelines should cover both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.