Effect of central venous angioplasty on hemodialysis access circuit flow: prospective study of 25 symptomatic patients.

Purpose: To quantify the effect of central venous percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) on blood flow within hemodialysis access circuits in patients with symptomatic central venous stenosis (CVS).

Materials And Methods: This prospective study enrolled 30 adults with symptoms attributable to CVS ipsilateral to their access. Five subjects were deregistered because of a lack of CVS (n = 1), untreatable lesion (n = 1), or improper flow measurement timing (n = 3); 25 completed the study (15 men and 10 women; mean age, 62 y; age range, 33-87 y). There were 7 fistulae, 15 grafts, and 3 hybrid access circuits. Mean access age was 675 days (range, 16-3,039 d). Mean CVS symptom duration was 37 days (range, 3-120 d). Peripheral stenoses, if present, were treated first. Intraaccess flow was measured immediately before and immediately after CVS treatment (PTA, stent).

Results: Eleven patients had only CVS, whereas 14 had at least 1 peripheral lesion in addition to CVS. All stenoses underwent PTA. Mean flow rates were 1,424 mL/min (range, 565-2,765 mL/min) before PTA and 1,535 mL/min (range, 598-2,545 mL/min) afterward, yielding a mean increase of 111 mL/min ± 456 or 15% ± 34 (range, -70% to +100%; 95% confidence interval, 1%-29%). Flow was decreased in 9 patients (36%). CVS symptoms were reduced in 24 patients (96%) and recurred in 14 (58%) within a mean of 110 days (range, 7-459 d) after initial PTA. Mean follow-up was 371 days (range, 17-592 d).

Conclusions: CVS symptoms were observed to occur over a wide range of blood flow rates. On average, central venous PTA only mildly increased flow yet reduced symptoms regardless of flow change.