Abstract
BackgroundPulsatility is an important property of hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and can be perceived by the fingers as a gradual decrease in strength downstream from the anastomosis along the main trunk of the fistula. The distance from the point at which the pulse becomes imperceptible to the anastomosis is termed the palpable pulsatility length (PPL); we considered this length may play a role in assessing the severity of inflow stenosis for hemodialysis fistulas.MethodsThis study was performed by retrospective analysis of routinely collected data. Physical examinations and fistula measurements were performed in a selected population of 76 hemodialysis patients with mature fistulas during half a year. Fistula measurements included the PPL before and after treatment and the distance between the anastomosis and the arterial cannulation site (aPump length). The aPump index (API) was calculated by dividing the PPL by the aPump length. Angiograms were reviewed to determine the location and severity of stenosis. PPL and API were used to detect the critical inflow stenosis, which indicates severe inflow stenosis of an AVF.ResultsReceiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.895 for API and 0.878 for PPL. A cutoff value of API < 1.29 and PPL < 11.0 cm were selected to detect the critical inflow stenosis. The sensitivity was 96.0% versus 80.0% and specificity was 84.31% versus 84.31% for API and PPL, respectively.ConclusionsPPL and API are useful tools in defining the severity of pure inflow stenosis for mature AVFs in the hands of trained examiners with high sensitivity and specificity.
Highlights
Pulsatility is an important property of hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and can be perceived by the fingers as a gradual decrease in strength downstream from the anastomosis along the main trunk of the fistula
Pulsatility is an important property of hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and its strength on palpation can be used to assess the severity of AVF stenosis
We found the length of pulsatility measured from where the pulse becomes not palpable by the finger to the arteriovenous anastomosis is shorter in those AVFs referred for inflow problems than in those with other complications
Summary
Pulsatility is an important property of hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and can be perceived by the fingers as a gradual decrease in strength downstream from the anastomosis along the main trunk of the fistula. The distance from the point at which the pulse becomes imperceptible to the anastomosis is termed the palpable pulsatility length (PPL); we considered this length may play a role in assessing the severity of inflow stenosis for hemodialysis fistulas. Pulsatility is an important property of hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and its strength on palpation can be used to assess the severity of AVF stenosis. We aim to evaluate the PPL as a diagnostic test for assessing the severity of inflow stenosis and to report its diagnostic accuracy
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