Safety and Efficacy of Acute Central Venous Catheters for Hemodialysis with Sodium Bicarbonate versus an Antibiotic Catheter Locking Solution

This study was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of acute central venous catheters (CVC) using a sodium bicarbonate catheter locking solution (SBCLS) versus an antibiotic catheter locking solution (ACLS). Our study included patients aged >18 years on hemodialysis initiated through an internal jugular non-tunneled CVC. Safety was assessed by comparing catheter loss resulting from catheter dysfunction (CD) and catheter-related blood stream infections (CRBSI) in two study groups: the SBCLS group (using 7.5% sodium bicarbonate) and the ACLS group (using antibiotic + heparin). Efficacy was assessed by the adequacy of blood flow (>300 mL/min). In total, 160 patients were included: 80 with the SBCLS and 80 with the ACLS. There were no statistically significant differences in clinical demographics between the groups. The average duration of the catheters was 23 days in the ACLS group and 22 days in the SBCLS group. In the ACLS group, four lost catheters to CD, two lost them to CRBSI, and five lost them to other malfunctions. Adequate blood flow was achieved in 71 patients. In the SBCLS group, three lost catheters to CD, three lost them to CRBSI, and four lost them to other malfunctions. Adequate blood flow was achieved in 73 patients. No significant differences between the groups were observed for catheter loss to CRBSI (P = 0.648), CD (P = 0.699), malfunction (P = 0.731), and blood flow (P = 0.598). The safety and efficacy of non-tunneled CVC with sodium bicarbonate as the catheter locking solution were similar to those of the ACLS.