Dialysis Catheter Tip Design and Dysfunction: An Unsolved Challenge

In the United States, 80% of patient with chronic kidney disease initiate hemodialysis with a central venous catheter (CVC).1 Over the last 2 decades, initiatives from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Fistula First Initiative) and the NKF-KDOQI (National Kidney Foundation–Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative) have guided the dialysis community to focus on a multidisciplinary and evidence-based approach to improve dialysis vascular access care. However, the solution to reduce CVC use remains elusive, leaving dialysis stakeholders with the challenge of managing the 2 most common complications: CVC dysfunction and bloodstream infection.