A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of the efficacy and safety of endovascular arteriovenous fistula creation.

OBJECTIVE

The percutaneous endovascular approach to arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation is a minimally invasive alternative to surgical AVF creation. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of endovascular AVF creation in patients with end-stage renal disease.

METHODS

This study conformed to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. An electronic search was performed on major databases to identify relevant articles. Meta-analysis of proportions and meta-regression were conducted.

RESULTS

Seven studies totaling 300 patients were included, of which four evaluated the everlinQ (TVA Medical, Austin, Tex) and three employed the Ellipsys (Avenu Medical, San Juan Capistrano, Calif) systems. The overall technical success rate was 97.50% (95% confidence interval [CI], 94.98-99.31%; I = 0.00%; P = .487). The 90-day maturation rate was 89.27% (95% CI, 84.00-93.66%; I = 21.29%; P = .283), and the 6-month patency and 12-month patency were 91.99% (95% CI, 87.98-95.35%; I = 0.00%; P = .780) and 85.71% (95% CI, 79.90-90.71%; I = 0.00%; P = NS), respectively. The overall procedure-related complication rate was 5.46% (95% CI, 0.310-14.42%; I = 81.21%; P = .000). Meta-regression was conducted on the pooled rates of technical success and complication, showing that age, diabetes, white race, hypertension, on dialysis, and body mass index were not significant sources of heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS

Current endovascular AVF systems appear to be effective and safe. However, given the lack of head-to-head comparative analyses with surgical AVF creation, superiority cannot be established.