Monthly Surveillance of UDT Flow Reduces Thrombotic Events in Hemodialysis

Results found in blocked fistula flow surveillance study

A recent study published in the Kidney International Report clearly shows that monthly UDT flow measurement can be an effective complement to the standard of care in clinical hemodialysis practice by reducing interventions.

Arteriovenous (AV) access thrombosis is a troubling issue for hemodialysis patients, as an urgent thrombectomy procedure is necessary to maintain dialysis access and continue treatment. Access thrombosis contributes to shortened access life and is the top cause of access loss.

While AV access monitoring in end-stage renal disease dialysis patients is a common, uncontroversial practice, the benefits of routine hemodialysis AV access surveillance to prevent access complications, such as access thrombosis or prolonging hemodialysis access life, was debatable given conflicting results of published small-scale studies.

This controversy led Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Arif Asif, M.D., to co-lead the first large-scale, multicenter HASE study that ultimately showed monthly surveillance of UDT flow measurement, in conjunction with the standard of care, reduced per-patient and per-visit thrombosis rates as opposed to the standard of care alone.

The use of UDT flow AV access surveillance in this multicenter, randomized and controlled trial reduced the per-patient thrombotic events without significantly increasing the total number of angiographic procedures. This prevents the need to access via additional limbs and preserves continuity of hemodialysis treatment and quality of life for patients.