Vascular access type and prognosis in elderly hemodialysis patients: a propensity-score-matched study.

BACKGROUND

To compare the impact of tunneled cuffed catheters (TCCs) and arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) on outcomes in elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients.

METHODS

A retrospective matched cohort study was performed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to balance the baseline conditions, and we compared all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), hospitalization, and infection rates between AVF and TCC patients ≥70 years old. Cox survival analysis was used to analyze the risk factors for death.

RESULTS

There were 2119 patients from our center in the Chinese National Renal Data System (CNRDS) between 1 January 2010 and 10 October 2023. Among these patients, 77 TCC patients were matched with 77 AVF patients. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the TCC and AVF groups (30.1/100 33.3/100 patient-years,  = 0.124). Among the propensity score-matched cohorts, no significant differences in Kaplan-Meier curves were observed between the two groups (log-rank  = 0.242). The TCC group had higher rates of MACCEs, hospitalization, and infection than the AVF group (33.7/100 29.5/100 patient-years, 101.2/100 79.5/100 patient-years, and 30.1/100 14.1/100 patient-years, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that high Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score was a risk factor for death.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between elderly HD patients receiving TCCs and AVFs. Compared with those with a TCC, elderly HD patients with an AVF have a lower risk of MACCEs, hospitalization, and infection.