{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T13:49:04Z","timestamp":1776865744839,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776816000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Tunneled hemodialysis catheters (TDCs) are essential for vascular access in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcomes of permanent TDCs placed at a single center, comparing heparin-coated versus non-heparin-coated catheters. Materials and Methods: A total of 189 patients who underwent permanent TDC placement between January 2021 and January 2022 were included. Patients were categorized by catheter type (heparin-coated, n = 80; non-heparin-coated, n = 109). Catheter failure-free survival was analyzed using the Kaplan\u2013Meier method, with arteriovenous fistula creation treated strictly as a censoring event. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify independent predictors of catheter failure. Results: Complications were significantly more frequent in the non-heparin-coated group (p = 0.004). Catheter exchange was required exclusively in the non-heparin-coated group (p &lt; 0.001). Kaplan\u2013Meier analysis demonstrated significantly longer failure-free catheter survival in the heparin-coated group (restricted mean 49.0 vs. 41.7 months; Log-Rank p &lt; 0.001). On multivariable Cox regression, the complete absence of events in the heparin-coated group yielded a strong protective point estimate (HR = 0.087, 95% CI: 0.004\u20131.710), rendering individual patient covariates such as INR and age non-significant. Conclusions: Heparin-coated TDCs were associated with significantly longer failure-free survival and lower complication rates compared with non-heparin-coated catheters. Due to the low overall event rate, individual patient-level covariates including INR did not reach statistical significance in the multivariable model.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62050804","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T12:00:32Z","timestamp":1776859232000},"page":"804","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Heparin-Coated Tunneled Hemodialysis Catheters Improve Failure-Free Survival in ESRD"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7766-8613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Volkan","family":"Tasci","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ali Fuat","family":"Tekin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2309-3320","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yunus Emre","family":"Tanr\u0131kulu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u0130smail","family":"\u00d6zer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9881-7240","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Onur","family":"Taydas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1934-5346","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mustafa","family":"Ozdemir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2331-1923","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omer Faruk","family":"Topaloglu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1284-916X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mahmud","family":"Islam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mehmet Halil","family":"\u00d6zt\u00fcrk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54050, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1975","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(14)61601-9","article-title":"Worldwide access to treatment for end-stage kidney disease: A systematic review","volume":"385","author":"Liyanage","year":"2015","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S1","DOI":"10.1053\/j.ajkd.2019.12.001","article-title":"KDOQI clinical practice guideline for vascular access: 2019 update","volume":"75","author":"Lok","year":"2020","journal-title":"Am. 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