Kidney disease treatment may cause harm

Kidney disease treatment may cause harm

SCIENCE DAILY

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Central venous catheters, used in permanent hemodialysis in patients with kidney disease, may result in a serious complication, a Turkish study found.

Permanent hemodialysis, used to remove waste products and water from the blood, often uses a central venous catheter placed into a large vein in the neck, chest or groin.

The study, published in the Hemodialysis International, found that central venous catheters may block the blood flow in the vessel, leading to superior vena cava syndrome -- a highly serious complication caused by the obstruction of blood coming to the heart from the upper body. The warning signs of superior vena cava syndrome include shortness of breath, swelling of the upper limbs, neck and face, study author Dr. Hadim Akoglu of Hacettepe University Institute, in Ankara, Turkey, said.

"The increasing use of central vein catheters for long-term hemodialysis has contributed high rates of complications," Akoglu said in a statement. "It seems that superior vena cava syndrome due to central vein catheters will become an important threat as the popularity of this treatment continues to grow."

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