Vascular Access News

Results of a questionnaire administered to patients with advanced chronic kidney disease revealed intentions to pursue vascular access were heavily informed by patient perception of the benefits early access creation might provide.

Researchers who compared arteriovenous grafts with arteriovenous fistulas in patients aged 65 years or older with end-stage kidney disease found scant evidence favoring one treatment over the other.

Similar to how emergency departments have teams ready to treat patients after cardiac arrest or stroke, a speaker argued it is equally necessary to have interventional teams for patients who develop rapid kidney failure.

Researchers from Canada found placement of an arteriovenous fistula slowed decline in kidney function for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease who were not yet on hemodialysis.

For older patients who initiated hemodialysis without permanent access, those with arteriovenous fistula placement within the following year were catheter-dependent for more time cumulatively than those with AV graft.

Various changes in treatment practices were associated with reductions in mortality and a decreased likelihood of cardiovascular events for patients who received hemodialysis in Sweden during a 10-year period.

Though contending the care currently provided to patients is “poor,” a speaker at ASN Kidney Week said society is at a “uniquely positive sweet-spot” in which vascular access care, as well as kidney care as a whole, can be transformed.

Contending a Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative update acknowledges a lack of evidence on how to achieve optimal access for dialysis, a vascular surgeon recommended a more patient-centered approach accounting for race, sex and age.

According to a speaker at ASN Kidney Week, there is a “glaring hole” in data related to successful dialysis access creation, presenting challenges to nephrologists as they attempt to improve care and increase patient satisfaction.

Medtronic plc. announced plans to acquire Avenu Medical, a California-based company which focuses on developing devices aimed at improving vascular access procedures for patients on dialysis, according to a press release.