Catarina Meng1,2, Ana Beco3, Ana Oliveira3, Luciano Pereira3,2,4, Manuel Pestana3,2,4. 1. Nephrology Department, Centro Hospitalar São João, Porto, Portugal catarinameng@gmail.com. 2. Nephrology and Infectious Diseases R&D Group, INEB-I3S - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia Biomédica, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. 3. Nephrology Department, Centro Hospitalar São João, Porto, Portugal. 4. Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Abstract
Introduction:Cuff-shaving has been described as a salvage technique for refractory exit-site infections, with conflicting data regarding infection and catheter outcomes. We describe our experience with cuff-shaving as a rescue therapy for exit-site infections unresponsive to systemic therapy. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent cuff-shaving between January 2012 and June 2017. Refractory exit-site infection was defined as purulent discharge from the exit site with no clinical response after 3 weeks of systemic antibiotic treatment. Results: Fifty-three cuff-shavings were included, mean age was 53.4 ± 13.4 years, 26 patients were male. Median dialysis vintage was 29 months (interquartile range [IQR] 14.3 - 38), and 39 (73.6%) were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The exit-site infection rate before cuff-shaving was 1.12 episodes per patient-year and the median time from infection to shaving was 52 days (IQR 35 - 76). The most frequent agents were Staphylococcus aureus (34%), Corynebacterium spp. (17%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15%). Median follow-up was 9 months (IQR 1 - 18.5), during which time 35 catheters were removed, 5 due to non-infectious reasons. Using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, median catheter survival was 24 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.17 - 43.83). At 12 months, the probability of catheter survival was 54% and was not statistically different between gram-positive and gram-negative agents, although it was significantly shorter for fungal agents. Conclusion: Cuff-shaving is a feasible rescue therapy to treat refractory exit-site infections. In our experience, it allowed resolution of infections in a significant proportion of cases, except for fungal agents, and therefore extended catheter survival time, besides being associated with a small rate of complications.
Introduction:Cuff-shaving has been described as a salvage technique for refractory exit-site infections, with conflicting data regarding infection and catheter outcomes. We describe our experience with cuff-shaving as a rescue therapy for exit-site infections unresponsive to systemic therapy. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent cuff-shaving between January 2012 and June 2017. Refractory exit-site infection was defined as purulent discharge from the exit site with no clinical response after 3 weeks of systemic antibiotic treatment. Results: Fifty-three cuff-shavings were included, mean age was 53.4 ± 13.4 years, 26 patients were male. Median dialysis vintage was 29 months (interquartile range [IQR] 14.3 - 38), and 39 (73.6%) were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The exit-site infection rate before cuff-shaving was 1.12 episodes per patient-year and the median time from infection to shaving was 52 days (IQR 35 - 76). The most frequent agents were Staphylococcus aureus (34%), Corynebacterium spp. (17%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15%). Median follow-up was 9 months (IQR 1 - 18.5), during which time 35 catheters were removed, 5 due to non-infectious reasons. Using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, median catheter survival was 24 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.17 - 43.83). At 12 months, the probability of catheter survival was 54% and was not statistically different between gram-positive and gram-negative agents, although it was significantly shorter for fungal agents. Conclusion: Cuff-shaving is a feasible rescue therapy to treat refractory exit-site infections. In our experience, it allowed resolution of infections in a significant proportion of cases, except for fungal agents, and therefore extended catheter survival time, besides being associated with a small rate of complications.