Changes in the Profile of Endovascular Procedures Performed in Freestanding Dialysis Access Centers over 15 Years

Transradial intervention in dialysis patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a Japanese nationwide registry study

Aims

Transradial intervention (TRI) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is used to reduce periprocedural complications. However, its effectiveness and safety for patients on dialysis are not well established. We aimed to investigate the association of TRI with in-hospital complications in dialysis patients undergoing PCI.

Methods and results

We included 44 462 patients on dialysis who underwent PCI using Japanese nationwide PCI registry data (2019-21) regardless of acute or chronic coronary syndrome. Patients were categorized based on access site: TRI, transfemoral intervention (TFI). Periprocedural access site bleeding complication requiring transfusion was the primary outcome and in-hospital death, and other periprocedural complications were the secondary outcomes. Matched weighted analysis was performed for TRI and TFI. Here, 8267 (18.6%) underwent TRI, and 36 195 (81.4%) underwent TFI. Patients who received TRI were older and had lower rates of comorbidities than those who received TFI. Access site bleeding rate and in-hospital death were significantly lower in the TRI group (0.1% vs. 0.7%, P < 0.001; 1.8% vs. 3.2%, P < 0.001, respectively). After adjustment, TRI was associated with a lower risk of access site bleeding (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 0.19 [0.099-0.38]; P < 0.001) and in-hospital death (OR [95% CI]: 0.79 [0.65-0.96]; P = 0.02). Other periprocedural complications between TRI and TFI were not significantly different.

Conclusion

In patients undergoing dialysis and PCI, TRI had a lower risk of access site bleeding and in-hospital death than TFI. This suggests that TRI may be safer for this patient population.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Dialysis Fistula Malfunction

The creation and maintenance of a dialysis access is vital for the reduction of morbidity, mortality, and cost of treatment for end stage renal disease patients. One's longevity on dialysis is directly dependent upon the quality of dialysis. This quality hinges on the integrity and reliability of the access to the patient's vascular system. All methods of dialysis access will eventually result in dialysis dysfunction and failure. Arteriovenous access dysfunction includes 3 distinct classes of events, namely thrombotic flow-related complications or dysfunction, nonthrombotic flow-related complications or dysfunction, and infectious complications. The restoration of any form of arteriovenous access dysfunction may be supported by diagnostic imaging, clinical consultation, percutaneous interventional procedures, surgical management, or a combination of these methods. This document provides a rigorous evaluation of how variants of each form of dysfunction may be appraised and approached systematically. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision process support the systematic analysis of the medical literature from peer reviewed journals. Established methodology principles such as Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE are adapted to evaluate the evidence. The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method User Manual provides the methodology to determine the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where peer reviewed literature is lacking or equivocal, experts may be the primary evidentiary source available to formulate a recommendation.

Scoop thrombectomy: A declotting technique for the treatment of thrombosed autologous arteriovenous fistula. A single-center retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Thrombosis is one of the main complications leading to the failure of autologous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for patients with renal failure. Thrombectomy is one of the major therapies to remove thrombi to salvage the AVF and prolong its patency.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-six patients with AVF thrombosis at the anastomosis were recruited for this study and underwent thrombectomy procedures. Their clinical variables were collected. The vasculature was accessed at the site of the aneurysmal dilatation. Under ultrasound guidance, a scoop thrombectomy procedure was performed by anterograde and retrograde scooping to remove the thrombus using forceps. Then, a sheath was placed in the direct vertical direction. Angioplasty was performed with a balloon to treat the underlying primary arteriovenous stenosis. Patients were followed up for 12 months after surgery. The procedural success, primary and secondary patency rates, and incidence of procedure-related complications were analyzed.

RESULTS

There were 2 minor (3.6%) and no major complications. Clinical success was achieved in 55 of the 56 procedures (98.2%). No symptomatic pulmonary embolism or arterial embolization was noted. The primary patency rates at 3, 6, and 12 months were 92.9, 83.8, and 73.3%%, respectively, according to the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

CONCLUSION

Scoop thrombectomy is a safe procedure with high technical success and a low complication rate, and it is an effective method for patients to receive hemodialysis immediately.

Arteriovenous Vascular Access-Related Procedural Burden Among Incident Hemodialysis Patients in the United States

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE

As the proportion of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) compared with arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) in the United States has increased, there has been a concurrent increase in interventions. We explored AVF and AVG maturation and maintenance procedural burden in the first year of hemodialysis.

STUDY DESIGN

Observational cohort study.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS

Patients initiating hemodialysis from July 1, 2012, to December 31, 2014, and having a first-time AVF or AVG placement between dialysis initiation and 1 year (N = 73,027), identified using the US Renal Data System (USRDS).

PREDICTORS

Patient characteristics.

OUTCOME

Successful AVF/AVG use and intervention procedure burden.

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

For each group, we analyzed interventional procedure rates during maturation maintenance phases using Poisson regression. We used proportional rate modeling for covariate-adjusted analysis of interventional procedure rates during the maintenance phase.

RESULTS

During the maturation phase, 13,989 of 57,275 patients (24.4%) in the AVF group required intervention, with therapeutic interventional requirements of 0.36 per person. In the AVG group 2,904 of 15,572 patients (18.4%) required intervention during maturation, with therapeutic interventional requirements of 0.28 per person. During the maintenance phase, in the AVF group 12,732 of 32,115 patients (39.6%) required intervention, with a therapeutic intervention rate of 0.93 per person-year. During maintenance phase, in the AVG group 5,928 of 10,271 patients (57.7%) required intervention, with a therapeutic intervention rate of 1.87 per person-year. For both phases, the intervention rates for AVF tended to be higher on the East Coast while those for AVG were more uniform geographically.

LIMITATIONS

This study relies on administrative data, with monthly recording of access use.

CONCLUSIONS

During maturation, interventions for both AVFs and AVGs were relatively common. Once successfully matured, AVFs had lower maintenance interventional requirements. During the maturation and maintenance phases, there were geographic variations in AVF intervention rates that warrant additional study.

Interventional Nephrology: Opportunities and Challenges

The nephrologist has a pivotal role as the leader of multidisciplinary teams to optimize vascular access care of the patient on dialysis and to promote multidisciplinary collaboration in research, training, and education. The continued success of interventional nephrology as an independent discipline depends on harnessing these efforts to advance knowledge and encourage innovation. A comprehensive curriculum that encompasses research from bench to bedside coupled with standardized clinical training protocols are fundamental to this expansion. As we find ourselves on the threshold of a much-awaited revolution in nephrology, there is great opportunity but also formidable challenges in the field - it is up to us to work together to realize the enormous potential of our discipline.

High success rate in salvage of catheter-related bloodstream infections due to Staphylococcus aureus, on behalf of project group of Italian society of nephrology

BACKGROUND

Catheter-related bloodstream infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus represent one of the most fearful infections in chronic haemodialysis patients with tunnelled central venous catheters. Current guidelines suggest prompt catheter removal in patients with positive blood cultures for S. aureus. This manoeuvre requires inserting a new catheter into the same vein or another one and is not without its risks.

METHODS

A protocol based on early, prompt diagnosis and treatment has been utilized in our renal unit since 2012 in an attempt to salvage infected tunnelled central venous catheters. We prospectively observed 247 tunnelled central venous catheters in 173 haemodialysis patients involving 167,511 catheter days.

RESULTS

We identified 113 catheter-related bloodstream infections (0.67 episodes per 1000 days/tunnelled central venous catheter). Forty were caused by S. aureus, including 19 by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (79% saved) and 21 by methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (90% saved), of which 34 (85%) were treated successfully. Eight recurrences occurred and six (75%) were successfully treated. A greater than 12 h time to blood culture positivity for S. aureus was a good prognostic index for successful therapy and tunnelled central venous catheter rescue.

CONCLUSION

Our data lead us to believe that it is possible to successfully treat catheter-related bloodstream infection caused by S. aureus and to avoid removing the tunnelled central venous catheter in many more cases than what has been reported in the literature. On the third day, it is mandatory to decide whether to replace the tunnelled central venous catheter or to carry on with antibiotic therapy. Apyrexia and amelioration of laboratory parameters suggest continuing systemic and antibiotic lock therapy for no less than 4 weeks, otherwise, tunnelled central venous catheter removal is recommended.

Tradeoffs in Vascular Access Selection in Elderly Patients Initiating Hemodialysis With a Catheter

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE

National vascular access guidelines recommend placement of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) over grafts (AVGs) in hemodialysis patients, but have not been comprehensively assessed in the elderly. We evaluated clinically relevant vascular access outcomes in elderly patients receiving an AVF or AVG after hemodialysis therapy initiation.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study using national administrative data.

SETTINGS & PARTCIPANTS

Claims data from the US Renal Data System of 9,458 US patients 67 years and older who initiated hemodialysis therapy from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, with a catheter and received an AVF (n=7,433) or AVG (n=2,025) within the ensuing 6 months.

PREDICTOR

Arteriovenous access subtype, AVF or AVG.

OUTCOMES

Successful use of vascular access, interventions to make vascular access functional, duration of catheter dependence before successful use of vascular access, frequency of interventions, and abandonment after successful use of vascular access.

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to compare the need for intervention before successful use of AVFs and AVGs, and negative bionomial regression was used to calculate the frequency of intervention after successful use of vascular access.

RESULTS

Unsuccessful use of vascular access within 6 months of creation was higher for AVFs versus AVGs (51% vs 45%; adjusted HR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.73-1.99). Interventions to make vascular access functional were greater in AVFs versus AVGs (42% vs 23%; OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 2.26-3.12). AVFs had a lower 1-year abandonment rate after successful use compared with AVGs (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.62-0.83) and required one-fourth fewer interventions after successful use (relative risk, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.69-0.81). Patients receiving an AVF had substantially longer catheter dependence before successful use than those receiving an AVG (median time, 3 vs 1 month; P<0.001).

LIMITATIONS

Residual confounding due to vascular access choice, restriction to an elderly population, and 1-year follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

In elderly hemodialysis patients initiating hemodialysis therapy with a catheter, the optimal vascular access selection depends on tradeoffs between shorter catheter dependence and less frequent interventions to make the vascular access (AVG) functional versus longer access patency and fewer interventions after successful use of the vascular access (AVF).

What is the best setting for receiving dialysis vascular access repair and maintenance services?

INTRODUCTION

Advances in dialysis vascular access (DVA) management have changed where beneficiaries receive this care. The effectiveness, safety, quality, and economy of different care settings have been questioned. This study compares patient outcomes of receiving DVA services in the freestanding office-based center (FOC) to those of the hospital outpatient department (HOPD). It also examines whether outcomes differ for a centrally managed system of FOCs (CMFOC) compared to all other FOCs (AOFOC).

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of clinically and demographically similar patients within Medicare claims available through United States Renal Data System (USRDS) (2010-2013) who received at least 80% of DVA services in an FOC (n = 80,831) or HOPD (n = 133,965). Separately, FOC population is divided into CMFOC (n = 20,802) and AOFOC (n = 80,267). Propensity matching was used to control for clinical, demographic, and functional characteristics across populations.

RESULTS

FOC patients experienced significantly better outcomes, including lower annual mortality (14.6% vs. 17.2%, p<0.001) and DVA-related infections (0.16 vs. 0.20, p<0.001), fewer hospitalizations (1.65 vs. 1.91, p<0.001), and lower total per-member-per-month (PMPM) payments ($5042 vs. $5361, p<0.001) than HOPD patients. CMFOC patients had lower annual mortality (12.5% vs. 13.8%, p<0.001), PMPM payments (DVA services) ($1486 vs. $1533, p<0.001) and hospitalizations ($1752 vs. $1816, p<0.001) than AOFOC patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Where nephrologists send patients for DVA services can impact patient clinical and economic outcomes. This research confirmed that patients who received DVA care in the FOC had better outcomes than those treated in the HOPD. The organizational culture and clinical oversight of the CMFOC may result in more favorable outcomes than receiving care in AOFOC.

Central venous catheters for chronic hemodialysis: Is "last choice" never the "right choice"?

Since the publication of the first vascular access clinical practice guidelines in 1997, the global nephrology community has dedicated significant time and resources toward increasing the prevalence of arteriovenous fistulas and decreasing the prevalence of central venous catheters for hemodialysis. These efforts have been bolstered by observational studies showing an association between catheter use and increased patient morbidity and mortality. To date, however, no randomized comparisons of the outcomes of different forms of vascular access have been conducted. There is mounting evidence that much of the difference in patient outcomes may be explained by patient factors, rather than choice of vascular access. Some have called into question the appropriateness of fistula creation for certain patient populations, such as those with limited life expectancy and those at high risk of fistula-related complications. In this review, we explore the extent to which catheters and fistulas exhibit the characteristics of the "ideal" vascular access and highlight the significant knowledge gaps that exist in the current literature. Further studies, ideally randomized comparisons of different forms of vascular access, are required to better inform shared decision making.