Title
Vascular access practices for therapeutic apheresis: Results of a survey
Publication Date
2019
Journal Title
J Clin Apher
Abstract
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Introduction: Obtaining vascular access (VA) is a critical part of the therapeutic apheresis (TA) treatment plan. Currently, there are no guidelines for VA decision-making and maintenance related to TA procedures. Materials and Methods: A 28-question survey to gather qualitative information regarding VA practices was distributed to the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA) 2018 Annual Meeting attendees and all ASFA members for voluntary participation. The descriptive analyses were reported as the number and frequency of responses for each question. Results: Total participation was 206 with 147 (71.4%) answering some or all 16 VA focused questions. The majority of respondents were nurses or physicians (89.0%) at sites providing ≥100 procedures. The most common TA procedures were plasma exchange, red cell exchange, and leukocytapheresis. The VA evaluation was predominantly performed by the TA service (80.3%, 118/147). The majority of TA physicians and/or providers do not insert (91.7%, 132/144) or remove (81.2%, 117/143) VA catheters. When an emergent TA procedure is needed, the majority of respondents felt (64.3%, 92/143). The most common anticoagulant for locking catheters and/or ports was heparin. The majority of TA services (54.3%, 76/140) collect data on aborted procedures due to catheter/line/port problems unrelated to infection, but only 41.4% (58/140) collect data on infections. Conclusion: VA contributes significantly to the overall risks associated with and the safety of TA. Our survey shows that there is substantial variation but common themes in TA VA practices. Several areas for future research may be identified.
Volume Number
34
Issue Number
5
Pages
571 - 578
Document Type
Article
Status
Faculty
Facility
School of Medicine
Primary Department
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
PMID
DOI
10.1002/jca.21726