2025 Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 108-112
A 67‒year‒old woman undergoing maintenance hemodialysis with a tunneled catheter presented with catheter dysfunction. Thrombolytic therapy with urokinase was attempted, but it failed to restore the function of the occluded catheter. We then administered alteplase, a recombinant tissue‒type plasminogen activator, for thrombolytic therapy, which successfully restored the function. In foreign countries, alteplase has been used in addition to urokinase, and some reports have shown that alteplase is more effective than urokinase in restoring dysfunction. As urokinase is currently in short supply, alteplase may be an option for patients with occluded tunneled catheters.
