A randomized controlled study of early versus standard cannulation of arteriovenous grafts in hemodialysis patients

Objective: Arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) are frequently needed in hemodialysis (HD) patients with unsuitable superficial veins. First cannulation of standard arteriovenous grafts (sAVGs) still require about 2 weeks after implantation. Early cannulation arteriovenous grafts (eAVGs) were suggested to overcome this shortcoming. The present randomized study proposed to compare the clinical outcomes of sAVGs and eAVGs in HD patients.

Methods: The present single-center randomized clinical study recruited 477 HD patients indicated for AVG creation. They included 236 in the sAVG group and 241 in the eAVG group. Eligible patients were simply randomized and allocated to the studied groups using 1:1 allocation ratio. Blinding was secured using the sealed envelope technique. Enrolled patients were followed up for 12 months. The primary outcome in the present study was primary, primary assisted, and secondary patency rates at 12 months. Other outcome parameters included time to first cannulation, graft complications, and mortality.

Results: Comparison between the studied groups regarding the primary outcomes revealed no statistically significant differences. Primary patency rate was 65.7% and 68.0% (P = .58) at 6 months and 53.8% and 56.4% (P = .57) at 12 months in the sAVG and eAVG groups, respectively. Primary assisted patency rate was 70.8% and 69.7% (P = .8) in patients with sAVG and eAVG, whereas the reported rates at 12 months were 59.3% and 61.0% (P = .71), respectively. Secondary patency rate was 78.4% and 73.9% (P = .25) at 6 months and 67.8% and 69.7% (P = .65) at 12 months in the sAVG and eAVG groups, respectively. As expected, patients in the eAVG group experienced significantly earlier cannulation when compared with patients in the sAVG group (median, 3.0 days; range, 1.0-9.0 days vs 19.0 days; range, 15.0-22.0 days; P < .001).

Conclusions: Patients in the eAVG group have comparable outcomes to those in the sAVG group at 12 months with the added advantage of earlier time to first cannulation.