Almenara-Tejederas, MarinaRodríguez-Pérez, María AMoyano-Franco, María Jde Cueto-López, MarinaRodríguez-Baño, JesúsSalgueira-Lazo, Mercedes2023-05-032023-05-032022-08-17http://hdl.handle.net/10668/21830Tunneled catheter-related bacteremia represents one of the major complications in patients on hemodialysis, and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of tunneled catheter-related bacteremia and, secondly, to identify possible factors involved in the first episode of bacteremia. This is a retrospective study of all tunneled catheters inserted between 1 January, 2005 and 31 December, 2019. Data on patients with a tunneled catheter were analyzed for comorbidities, catheter characteristics, microbiological culture results and variables related to the first episode of bacteremia. Patient outcomes were also assessed. In the 14-year period under study, 406 tunneled catheters were implanted in 325 patients. A total of 85 cases of tunneled catheter-related bacteremia were diagnosed, resulting in an incidence of 0.40 per 1000 catheter days (81.1% after 6 months of implantation). The predominant microorganisms isolated were Gram-positive organisms: Staphylococcus epidermidis (48.4%); Staphylococcus aureus (28.0%). We found no significant differences in time to catheter removal for infections or non-infection-related reasons. The jugular vein, the Palindrome® catheter, and being the first vascular access were protective factors for the first episode of bacteremia. The 30-day mortality rate from the first tunneled catheter-related bacteremia was 8.7%. The incidence of bacteremia in our study was low and did not seem to have a relevant impact on catheter survival. S. epidermidis was the most frequently isolated microorganism, followed by S. aureus. We identified Palindrome® catheter, jugular vein, and being the first vascular access as significant protective factors against tunneled catheter-related bacteremia.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BacteremiaBloodstreamHemodialysisTunneled catheterHumansCatheters, IndwellingRetrospective StudiesIncidenceStaphylococcus aureusRenal DialysisRisk FactorsBacteremiaCatheterization, Central VenousCatheter-Related Infectionsresearch article35976569open access10.1007/s40620-022-01408-81724-6059PMC9895018https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40620-022-01408-8.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9895018/pdf