What question did this study set out to answer?

This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ethanol lock therapy combined with antibiotics in salvaging tunneled dialysis catheters.

January 22, 2026Clinical Kidney JournalOpen Access

Ethanol Lock Therapy for Salvage of Infected Tunnelled Haemodialysis Catheters: A Randomised Controlled Trial

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Randomised controlled trial shows ethanol lock therapy enhances catheter salvage in dialysis patients, suggesting effective infection management.

This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ethanol lock therapy combined with antibiotics in salvaging tunneled dialysis catheters.
Single-centre, open-label, randomised controlled trial.
Participants included adult haemodialysis patients with suspected or confirmed catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Patients received either ethanol lock therapy with intravenous antibiotics or intravenous antibiotics alone.
Ethanol lock therapy improved early catheter salvage (78.6% vs 57.1%; P = 0.035).
Recurrence of infection at Day 60 was lower in the ethanol lock group (20.5% vs 53.7%; P = 0.002).
Fever resolution by Day 7 was significantly higher in the ethanol lock group (64.3% vs 35.7%, P = 0.009).
Adverse events were infrequent and mild.

K. et al. (2026) studied this question.

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Randomised controlled trial shows ethanol lock therapy enhances catheter salvage in dialysis patients, suggesting effective infection management.