OBJECTIVE: Infection is one of the main complications of dialysis procedures to correct renal injury, with a significant impact on morbidity mortality in chronic and critically acute dialysis patients. The objective of this work was to review literature on infection in patients submitted to hemodyalisis. METHODS: A survey of publications from 1990 to March 2008 was carried out in the database COCHRANE, PubMed/MEDLINE, Latin-American and Caribbean literature on Health Sciences and Nursing database. In Health Science (DECS) and Medical Subject Headings Section (MeSH) from |PubMed/MEDLINE the following descriptors were used: infection; cross infection; bacteremia; renal dialysis; renal failure;acute renal failure; hemofiltation; hemodiafiltration; renal replacement therapy. RESULTS: Thirty three articles were selected. Most publications were American, from 2001 to 2005 and mainly about vascular access-related infection. Studies diverged on the definition of infection and nomenclature, hindering comparisons. Fiver articles covered different infection topographies, 16 studied vascular access-related infections in the different types of vascular accesses, nine specifically focused on temporary central catheters for hemodialysis and only three studied infections in intensive care unit patients. Temporary central catheters for hemodialysis were identified as the principal risk factor. CONCLUSION: There is a need for studies about infection incidence in critically ill, submitted to dialysis with temporary catheters, due to acute renal injury to define a causal relationship and risk factors to orient adequate prevention and control measures.
Infection; Cross infection; Bacteremia; Renal dialysis; Renal insufficiency, acute; Renal insufficiency, chronic
