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Infection rates were highest among temporary catheters and lowest among permanent native arteriovenous fistulae or synthetic grafts. This represents the first report of extensive incidence data on hemodialysis vascular access infections and represents a standardized surveillance and data-collection system that could be implemented in hemodialysis facilities to allow for reliable data comparison and benchmarking.

Ongoing infection surveillance in hemodialysis facilities can identify specific device-related outbreaks of infections and promote interventions to reduce infectious complications and promote patient safety. Surveillance for vascular access site infections is recommended as a routine activity in hemodialysis facilities.

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