Comparison of dynamic arterial and venous pressure between metal needles and plastic cannulas in incident hemodialysis patients with arteriovenous graft.

Background And Objects: We hypothesized that plastic cannulae with 17-gauge inner needle compared to 16-gauge metal needles can have stable dynamic venous and arterial pressure maintaining prescribed blood flow safely during a hemodialysis treatment.

Design, Setting, Participants, And Measurements: A single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label clinical trial was conducted involving 16 incident hemodialysis patients who had arteriovenous graft placed as their first arteriovenous access. Subjects were randomized to metal needle group (n = 8) versus plastic cannula group (n = 8). We measured serial dynamic pre-pump arterial and venous pressure under five different blood pump flow rates (150, 200, 250, 300, and 350 mL/min).

Results: The mean age of patients was 67.6 ± 8.5 (range: 51-81) years, and six patients (37.5%) were male. Patients with plastic cannula showed less negative arterial pre-pump pressures and lower venous pressures than those with metal needles at all prescribed blood flow rates, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The plastic cannula had more stable arterial and venous pressures at prescribed blood pump flow rates than those pressures of the metal needle in incident patients with arteriovenous graft during hemodialysis.