Background:

Infection is the second cause of mortality among patients with renal failure. The development of infections is often associated with the contamination of vascular access.

Objectives:

To analyze the Quality Index (QI) of nursing procedures related to central venous catheter (CVC) handling and maintenance in patients undergoing hemodialysis and the associated factors.

Methodology:

Cross-sectional analytical study conducted with a sample of 50 nurses in hemodialysis units in northern Portugal between June and September 2019. Nurses were directly observed and completed a questionnaire for socio-professional characterization. Data were entered into and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 21.0.

Results:

The mean QI for CVC-related procedures was 80%. The use of chlorhexidine for skin antisepsis had the lowest compliance rate.

Conclusion:

There is an opportunity to improve the QI of CVC-related procedures for hemodialysis. Professional training was considered a predictor of best practices.

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