Tag Archives: dialysis grafts
Type of arteriovenous vascular access and association with patency and mortality.
Hemodialysis.com eInterview with Gürbey Ocak,
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Written Interview conducted with author by Editor Marie Benz, MD
Hemodialysis.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We prospectively followed 919 incident hemodialysis patients in our study. We investigated risk factors for primary patency loss in patients with a graft or fistula. Furthermore, we investigated the association between graft versus fistula use and two-year primary patency loss and two-year mortality. Cardiovascular disease, prior catheter use, albumin, hsCRP, and fetuin-A are risk factors for patency loss. Graft use as compared with fistula use was associated with an increased risk of patency loss and mortality.
Marie Benz, MD on Google+Experience of HeRO Dialysis Graft Placement in a Challenging Population
Hemodialysis.com Interview with: Harry Schanzer, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Clinical Professor of Surgery
Division of Vascular Surgery
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Hemodialysis.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Schanzer: Eleven patients with central venous occlusive disease underwent 12 HeRO placements as a last ditch effort for long-term hemodialysis access. At one year, primary and secondary patencies were 9.1% and 45.5%. Four HeRO grafts were never cannulated, and the remaining 11 had a functional patency of an average of 14 months
Thrombophilia and Arteriovenous Fistula Survival in End Stage Renal Disease
Hemodialysis.com Author Interview: 
Dr. Riitta Lassila
Coagulation Disorders Unit
Hematology and HUSLAB
Helsinki University Central Hospital
Helsinki, Finland
Hemodialysis.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Lassila: Arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) reconstructed for using patient’s own vessels (even without prosthesis material) carry a high risk offailure upon waiting for maturation and for the use for dialysis.
One-year AVF failure rate in Finnish patients treated at Helsinki University Central Hospital (n=219, during 2002-2004) was 32%. Almost half of the failures occurred already prior to fistula use. The high flow rate in fistulas creates conditions where platelets get activated and adhere to the fistula wall. Upon repetitive needle sticks subendothelial matrix is exposed to blood imitating thrombus formation. We were interested in assessing whether coagulation abnormalities (hypercoagulability: e.g. elevated FVIII: C, fibrinogen and D-dimer)) and thrombophilia (factor V Leiden, prothrombin mutation, deficiencies of natural anticoagulants protein C, protein S and antithrombin) were associated with AVF survival.
