The impact of arteriovenous fistulas and tunneled cuffed venous catheters on morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis patients: A single center experience.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Hemodialysis is the most used renal replacement therapy option for patients with end-stage renal disease. Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) and tunnel-cuffed venous catheters (tCVC) are commonly used vascular access routes and have advantages and disadvantages compared to each other. This study focuses on the effects of AVFs and tCVCs on morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

METHODS

The records (between January 2015 and January 2017) of 110 patients (55 patients with AVF and 55 patients with tCVC) under hemodialysis therapy for at least 6 months were evaluated retrospectively. The data about blood tests, hospitalizations, and mortality were compared between patients with AVF and tCVC.

FINDINGS

Fifty-five patients (25 male, 58 ± 14 years old) were undergoing hemodialysis via AVF. Fifty-five patients (17 male, 63 ± 14 years old) were undergoing hemodialysis via tunneled CVCs. Thirty (54.5%) of the hospitalization patients had AVF and 46 (83.6%) had CVCs ( < 0.01). The only independent predictor of hospitalization was the use of tCVC as vascular access, according to multivariate regression analysis ( = 0.01). Seven (30%) of the dead patients had AVF and 16 (69.6%) had CVCs ( = 0.035). Use of tCVC appeared to be a mortality predictor in univariate regression analysis ( = 0.039). But the significance did not continue in multivariate model ( = 0.578) in which the duration of hemodialysis appeared as the only significant factor ( = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Patients undergoing hemodialysis via AVF had fewer all-cause hospitalizations and mortality rate than those using tunneled CVCs.