The Patency Rate of the Primary and Exchanged Femoral Haemodialysis Catheters

Background: This prospective cohort study aims to evaluate the primary and exchanged femoral catheter patency rates, as well as mortality rates and determine the probable risk factors affecting femoral catheter survival. Methods: All 79 tunneled femoral catheters created in our hospital from 2017 to 2020 were included in this study. Patients having no other means for dialysis access other than the femoral catheter was recruited in this study. Data collected included patient age, sex, comorbidities (diabetes and hypertension), transplant history, dialysis duration, catheter complications, femoral access history, and primary and exchanged femoral patency rates. Patients were followed for 4-36 months. Results: The median catheter primary patency was 7 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.77, 8.22) and the primary patency rates at 2, 4 and 6 months were 79%, 68% and 48%, respectively. The median exchanged catheter survival was 8 months (95% CI: 0.83, 15.17) and the exchanged patency rates at 1, 3 and 8 months were 72%, 64% and 32%, respectively. Of the patients (n = 62), 8% (5 patients) died because they had no other option for dialysis access. Conclusion: Tunneled femoral catheters have a low patency rate and should be the last option for haemodialysis patients when other probable accesses are not available.