Air Embolism during Insertion and Replacement of Tunneled Dialysis Catheters: A Retrospective Investigation of the Effect of Aerostatic Sheaths and Over-the-Wire Exchange

Use of aerostatic sheaths trended toward reducing AE events during de novo TDC placement. This trend was not statistically significant, probably owing to the rarity of AE despite the large sample size. Air embolism occurs during OTWE at a rate similar to de novo placement with aerostatic sheaths as well as during tract recanalization.