Page 11/15

The total follow-up of all catheters was 665.0 months [range 1 - 42.2 months, mean 15.5 ± 10.7 (SD)] per patient. The early infection group was more likely to have catheters removed for tunnel infection than any other group (Table 10). No catheter with first positive periexit smear 5 weeks or later was removed due to tunnel infection in contrast to 28.6% of catheters removed in the group colonized at week one (Table 11).

Table 12 shows data related to the catheters removed due to exit/tunnel infection. Organisms cultured from the first positive periexit smear and washout were identical to the organism cultured from exit exudate in only one instance. In another case Staphylococcus aureus cultured at the second week was also cultured from dialysate and exit exudate at the time of catheter removal 56 weeks later. In three other cases the final positive cultures from exit exudates and dialysates were different from the first organisms cultured from the periexit smears and washouts. The organisms responsible for the demise of these catheters did not appear until 4 or more months postimplantation.

TABLES 10, 11, 12 NOT AVAILABLE

Peritoneal Dialysis International, Vol. __, pp. ___ Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1996 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis ____-____/96 $3.00 + .00