Vascular access team: operating instructions

Abstract

The management of vascular access by the nephrologist is increasingly difficult. A great help could come from the vascular access team, which is composed of various specialists and can face the complex and different issues of hemodialysis access under the coordination of the nephrologist. The team is a tool that every nephrologist that deals in his facility with vascular access management should have. The vascular access team should be built by identifying useful competences. The inability to form a local team, should never prevent the nephrologist to refer to another, external team able to solve vascular access problems.