Thank you for the opportunity to reply to comments from Dr. Hong on our article A 2% Taurolidine Catheter Lock Solution Prevents Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection (CRBSI) and Catheter Dysfunction in Hemodialysis Patients1 published in Volume 25, Issue 4 of the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access. As a clinical nephrology team, we concur with Dr. Hong that many measures may contribute to infection prevention.
Prevention of intraluminal thrombus formation is of great importance for dialysis quality and avoiding CRBSI. In our study, we have shown that these goals can be safely achieved with a taurolidine-based catheter lock regimen. However, we agree the extraluminal pathway of dialysis catheter infection must certainly be recognized as well.
As Dr. Hong states, correct placement of the cuff and the catheter tip may play an important role. Our patients are routinely sent for catheter placement to the vascular access team or vascular...