Ben Hamida M, Hachicha J, Chaabouni M N, Jarraya A
Service de Néphrologie, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris.
Ann Med Interne (Paris). 1989;140(2):99-101.
Between March 1982 and March 1986, 11 out of 72 patients (15%) undergoing chronic hemodialysis in a Tunisian hemodialysis unit developed septicaemia. The causative organism was a staphylococcus aureus in 8 patients, and the main portal of entry was the dialysis catheter (6/8). Septic pulmonary metastasis were observed in 3 cases. REmoval of the dialysis catheter and antibiotic therapy led to recovery in 7 cases. The 4 fatalities were attributed to respiratory failure in 3 cases and septic shock in one case. These results indicate that the prognosis of septicaemia in hemodialysis patients is poor.
