Journal of Vascular Access最新文献

Background: Pediatric patients requiring extracorporeal life support (ECLS) often need central venous access for extended periods of time. In this population, the placement of an upper extremity peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) can be challenging due to the location and size of the venous ECLS cannula. Bedside placement of a tunneled femorally inserted central catheters (T-FICC) can be a viable alternative to a traditional PICC.

Methods: In this case series we present five children who were on ECLS and had a T-FICC placed at the bedside.

Results: In this series of five patients we successfully placed T-FICCs while the patients were on ECLS. The T-FICCs dwelled from 15 to 182 days. There were no events of central line associated blood stream infections or deep vein thrombosis. There was only one unintentional line dislodgement noted.

Conclusion: The use of T-FICCs placed at the bedside is a safe and reliable alternative for secure long-term venous access in children who are on ECLS.

Background: To assess a single-center experience with tunneled femoral dialysis catheter usage and outcomes and to identify any operator-dependent factors related to risk of premature catheter failure.

Methods: Retrospective review of the institutional radiology information system for tunneled femoral dialysis catheter placement from 2010 to 2017 was performed. Patients for whom the catheter was placed for an indication other than dialysis or who were less than 18 years of age at the time of catheter placement were excluded. Premature catheter failure rate, cause of premature failure, catheter patency (in days) and infection rate were assessed. Operator/placement characteristics, including laterality, catheter tip placement, and catheter length were also assessed.

Results: A total of 101 patients were included in the study. This included n = 116 catheter placements. Thirty-four percent of patients (n = 40) were lost to follow-up, resulting in n = 61 patients and n = 76 catheters analyzed. Premature catheter failure rate was 48% (n = 36), with low flows being the foremost cause of failure (64%, n = 23). Average primary patency of these catheters was 82.4 days (1-328 days). About 8% of catheters (n = 3) were complicated by infection, resulting in an infection rate of 0.4/1000 catheter days. None of the operator-dependent factors analyzed, including catheter laterality, catheter tip placement, and catheter length, demonstrated a significant association with premature catheter failure.

Conclusions: Institutional primary access patency rates are comparable to or higher than previously published data, while infection rates are similar to or lower than those reported in the literature. None of the operator-dependent factors related to placement was shown to significantly decrease the risk of premature catheter failure. These findings suggest that while femoral dialysis catheters do not function well in the long term relative to internal jugular vein dialysis catheters, prior literature may undervalue their utility and function, particularly given that these catheters are used as a "last resort" for many patients.

Background: Stenosis in arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) due to neointimal hyperplasia is one of the most common causes of hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction. Treating patients with dysfunctional AVF with drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty may potentially improve outcomes.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of DCB angioplasty versus conventional balloon angioplasty by pooling evidence from the most recent randomized controlled trials.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search in the Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane central databases. Two independent researchers screened the article, extracted interest, and evaluated included studies for risk of bias. Pooled estimation was conducted in terms of 6-month target-lesion primary patency (TLPP) and target-lesion reintervention (TLR), as well as other outcomes.

Results: Results were expressed with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of five RCTs were identified and included in the meta-analyses, with 1107 participants. DCB has a trend of a higher rate of TLPP (OR 1.79, 95% CI 0.66-4.90, p = 0.181) and a significantly lower rate of TLR (0.52, 95% CI 0.29-0.92, p = 0.034), as compared to conventional balloon angioplasty. No difference in the 6-month access circuit primary patency and reinvention was observed between the two groups.

Conclusion: DCB may be an alternative treatment of dysfunctional AVF given a trend of a higher rate of TLPP and a significantly lower rate of TLR than conventional balloon angioplasty within 6 months after the indexed procedure. Moreover, DCB was non-inferior to conventional balloon angioplasty in terms of safety. Considering variations in the DCB technique, further studies are warranted for a standardized process.

Background: Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred vascular access for patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD). AVF malfunction remains a major clinical problem and is a significant independent risk factor for death. Although far-infrared (FIR) therapy has been shown to reduce complications and improve the patency rate of AVFs in various studies, it has been cautiously recommended by the Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative (KDOQI) guidelines for AVF care due to insufficient evidence. Therefore, it is necessary to identify more effective methods for preventing AVF dysfunction. Many in vitro studies and few clinical studies have examined the effects of near-infrared (NIR) therapy on the vasculature. This study will examine the effects of NIR therapy on AVF.

Methods: A randomised, controlled, open-label, multicentre trial will compare the effect of NIR on AVF patency after 1 year of therapy with that of a control group of patients with existing AVF. One group of patients received NIR treatment above their AVFs, whereas the control group received regular care. The primary outcome is the primary fistula patency rate within 12 months. In addition, acute changes in inflammatory, vasodilatory and haemodynamic parameters after a single treatment in the first 40 participants will be examined. This study was registered in the Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR2300071305) at https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/.

Discussions: This study will explore the long-term and acute effects of NIR on AVFs. The study findings will provide information that can be used to develop new technical support for the prevention of AVF dysfunction in patients undergoing haemodialysis.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of cutting balloon angioplasty (CBA) and conventional balloon angioplasty (control group) for recurrent vascular access stenosis in arteriovenous fistulas.

Materials and methods: This prospective, randomized single-center clinical trial included patients with hemodynamically significant recurrent vascular access stenosis of an arteriovenous fistula. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess primary patency, whereas the log-rank test was used to evaluate differences in patency between groups. Functional evaluations were performed using Doppler ultrasonography.

Results: Patients (n = 122) were randomly assigned to undergo CBA or conventional balloon angioplasty between December 2012 and November 2017. The clinical success rate was 100% in both groups. The anatomical success rates were 65% and 56% in the CBA and control groups, respectively. The primary patency of the target lesion was significantly better in the CBA group (33.3%) than in the control group (16.1%) at 6 months (hazard ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.77; p = 0.00171). The stenosis percentage decreased significantly after angioplasty in the CBA group (Δ-50.7%) compared with the control group (Δ-41.9%) (p = 0.0008). Access flow, measured using duplex Doppler ultrasonography, improved after angioplasty in both groups (300-526 ml/min in the control group and, 268-546 ml/min in the CBA group). Change in access flow (Δ + 278 ± 162) in the CBA group tended to be greater than that in the control group (Δ + 226 ± 151) (p = 0.07). However, the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: In patients with recurrent vascular access stenosis of the arteriovenous fistula CBA is effective and superior to conventional angioplasty.

Objectives: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is an established procedure for assessing subtype patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). However, it is technically challenging, with high failure rates, which limits its application in clinical practice. Our study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single-catheter modified approach for AVS.

Methods: The clinical, angiographic, and procedural data of 182 consecutive patients who underwent AVS procedures between May 2020 and May 2023 were collected and analyzed. The single-catheter modified approach was performed as a single 5 F Tiger catheter with only one-time manual reshaping, which was recommended for sequential bilateral adrenal cannulations.

Results: Of the 182 consecutive patients, 174 (95.6%) had successful bilateral adrenal cannulation. The single-catheter modified approach was successfully performed to cannulate the right adrenal vein in 176 (96.7%) patients, while another six (3.3%) patients needed at least a second manual reshaping for 5 F Tiger catheters. For left adrenal cannulation, a single-catheter modified approach was successfully used in 179 (98.4%) patients, whereas 5 F Tiger catheters with at least second-time manual reshaping were used in the remaining three (1.6%) patients. The procedural period was 15.6 ± 10.8 min, the fluoroscopy time was 4.2 ± 1.5 min, and the diagnostic contrast was 15.5 ± 4.8 mL. The incidence of procedure-related complications associated with AVS was 1.1%. The cumulative summation assessment illustrated that the learning curve for the operating procedure required up to 29 cases, indicating that the procedure time was shortened after 29 cases.

Conclusions: The single-catheter modified approach is an effective, safe, and feasible technique for AVS treatment. In particular, this improved method is not difficult for beginners with high technical success rates.

This study aimed to investigate cardiovascular function in a patient with high-flow arteriovenous fistula (AVF) who underwent aortic dissection (AD) using four-dimensional (4D) flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as analyze the effect of flow reduction surgery on AD. On March 12, 2017, a 60-year-old woman underwent emergency surgery for AD. After that, she experienced acute kidney injury, and hemodialysis was initiated. On April 24, 2017, a left brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) was created to facilitate her dialysis. However, after 5 years, the patient presented with a high-flow AVF, and a flow reduction surgery was performed on March 11, 2022. To evaluate the procedure's effectiveness, we measured the changes in left ventricular (LV) function and blood flow in the aorta and vascular access before and after surgery using 4D flow MRI. Notable changes were observed in LV function, blood flow in the aorta before and after the surgery, and maximum velocity and flow volume after surgery. During the 6-month follow-up after the surgery, the maximum velocity and flow volume in the aorta and vascular access were reduced; also, indicators such as LV volume, cardiac output, cardiac index, and LV mass were improved. In patients with high-flow AVF, flow reduction surgery should be considered as it may improve LV function and reduce the risk of AD recurrence by lowering the flow volume of the aorta.

Background: Plain old balloon angioplasty has been the mainstay of treatment for arteriovenous fistula (AVF) stenoses. Recent studies suggest that drug coated balloons (DCB) may significantly reduce re-intervention rates on native and recurrent lesions. The Passeo-18 Lux DCB (Biotronik AG, Buelach, Switzerland) is packaged with a 3.0 µg/mm² dose of paclitaxel. The hypothesis is that its use provides better target lesion primary patency (TLPP), primary assisted patency (PP), secondary patency (SP) rates and reduces the number of visits for re-intervention in a cohort of patients with stenotic AVF and arteriovenous grafts (AVGs).

Methods: The USE of IMplanting the Biotronik PassEo-18 Lux DCB to treat failing haemodialysis arteRiovenous FIstulas and grafts trial (SEMPER FI) was a prospective double-centre, multi-investigator, non-consecutive, non-blinded single-arm study investigating the efficacy and safety of the Passeo-18 Lux DCB in patients with stenotic AVF/AVG lesions between January 2021 and January 2022. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, vascular access history, operative indications, details and outcomes were collected prospectively. TLPP, circuit access primary patency (CAP), PP, SP and deaths 6- and 12-months post-intervention were studied.

Results: Ninety-one patients with 110 lesions were recruited across the two centres. 62.6% (n = 57) were male with a median age of 63.5 years (SD = 10.5). 62.6% (n = 57) were taking anti-platelets. Eighty-five AVFs and six AVGs were treated. 60% (n = 54) of AVFs intervened were radiocephalic. 52.7% (n = 58) of targeted lesions were juxta-anastomotic stenosis (JAS) and one-third (n = 33) at the AVF/AVG outflow. 70.9% (n = 78) of lesions were recurrent. Median time from last intervention was 219 days. 78% of target lesions (n = 85) and circuits (n = 70) were patent at 6-months, of which 96.7% (n = 87) of those requiring assisted intervention were patent.

Conclusion: This study shows that the Passeo-18 Lux DCB can be an effective and safe tool in the treatment of failing haemodialysis AVFs/AVGs.

Objectives: To create an educational program and provide a valid, evidence-based course for ultrasound-based tip location during placement of PICC-port for specialized nurses.

Materials and methods: We designed three phases for program development. Phase 1: summarizing the evidences as a knowledge foundation; Phase 2: developing an educational program for ultrasound-based tip location during placement of PICC-port; Phase 3: expert panel to validate the developed program.

Results: The educational program was composed of five parts and 12 lessons, with three lessons each devoted to basic knowledge, practice, and testing, respectively. First, the criteria for defining an expert trainer is determined. Second, some basic conditions are confirmed. Third, the image acquisition windows of transthoracic echocardiographic are recommended. Fourth, the knowledge about ultrasound-based tip location is categorized. Fifth, the procedures for ultrasound-based tip location combined with "bubble test" were listed. The program's content was verified by experts and found to have a validity coefficient of 0.95.

Conclusion: The program, encompassing theoretical and practical components, as well as assessment items, can be applied in specialized nursing education and skills training, and it enhances nurses' competence in accurately identifying the tip location during the placement of PICC-ports and other central venous access implants.

Background: VV ECMO is increasingly used as a rescue strategy for hypercarbic and hypoxic respiratory failure refractory to conventional management, and more than 14,000 patients with COVID-19 related respiratory failure have been supported with VV ECMO to date. One of the known complications of VV ECMO support is the development of cannula-associated deep vein thromboses (CaDVT). The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of CaDVT in COVID-19 patients supported with VV ECMO as compared to non-COVID-19 patients. We hypothesized that due to the hypercoagulable state and longer duration of VV ECMO support required for patients with COVID-19, a higher incidence of CaDVT would be observed in these patients.

Methods: This is a single center, retrospective observational study. About 291 non-trauma adult patients who were cannulated for VV ECMO and managed at our institution from January 1, 2014 to January 10, 2022 were included. The primary outcome was the presence of CaDVT 24 h after decannulation in COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 patients. Our secondary outcome was continued presence of DVT on follow up imaging. CaDVT were defined as venous thrombi detected at prior cannulation sites.

Results: Both groups had a high incidence of CaDVT. There was no significant difference in the incidence of CaDVT in COVID-19 patients compared to non-COVID-19 patients (95% vs 88%, p = 0.13). Patients with COVID-19 had an increased incidence of persistent CaDVT on repeat imaging (78% vs 56%, p = 0.03).

Conclusion: Given the high number of post-decannulation CaDVT in both groups, routine screening should be a part of post ECMO care in both populations. Repeat venous duplex ultrasound should be performed to assess for the need for ongoing treatment given the high incidence of CaDVT that persisted on repeat duplex scans.