NephrologyNursingJournalJanuary-February2014Vol
167ShowerandNo-DressingTechniqueForTunneledCentralVenousHemodialysisCatheters:AQualityImprovementInitiativeTunneledcentralvenouscathe-ters(CVCs)havebeenusedforsometimeasavascularaccessforhemodialysis
CVCsareusedwhenoptimalandmoreperma-nentarteriovenoushemodialysisac-cessiseithernotanoptionornotdesiredbythepatient
Theyareoftennotthepreferredvascularaccessbyhealthcareprovidersduetothehighassociatedmorbidityandmortality,oftenrelatedtoinfection
Hemo-dialysiscathetersarethemostcom-moncauseofrepeatedlyhighratesofhospitalizationforinfectioninthispopulation(UnitedStatesRenalDataSystem[USRDS],2013)
Preventingcatheter-relatedbacteremiabeginswithgoodCVCcare(Lok&Mokrzycki,2011)
AnessentialcomponentofthisisthecareoftheCVCexitsiteandCVCexitsitedressi