The Role of Preoperative Duplex Ultrasound Vessel Mapping in Determining Primary Failure of Pediatric Hemodialysis Arteriovenous Fistula

The autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred vascular access for pediatric and adult patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD). However, the prevalent rate of AVF use in children remains low in the United States. Duplex ultrasonography (DUS) of arm vessels is an essential step in the planning of AVF creation in adults, but its use in children is not described in much detail. In this retrospective study, we examined the role of preoperative DUS in children and adolescents who underwent AVF creation at a single large pediatric hospital, from 2008 to 2017. In addition, we sought to determine the potential risk factors for primary failure (PF), which was defined as the inability to use the AVF for at least a sustained 6-week period either due to thrombosis or any other reasons. We created 67 AVFs in 57 patients (34 male; 60%). The overall PF was 16% (11/67), and higher in cephalic AVF (10/40, 25%) compared to basilic (1/27, 3.7%), P =.04. The median maturation time was longer for basilic compared to cephalic AVF (105±47 vs. 88±38 days, respectively, P =.006). The size of the juxta-anastomotic vein and artery on preoperative DUS was not significantly different in cephalic versus basilic AVFs. However, the median diameter of the outflow vein was significantly smaller in the cephalic compared to basilic AVF (3.4 mm vs. 4.2 mm, P =.042). In addition, the outflow vein size was the only preoperative factor found to be significant as possible predictor for PF on univariable analysis. The results of this study show that the PF rate and maturation time for AVFs created in children and adolescents are comparable to adults, with the routine use of preoperative DUS. We postulate that vessel selection for AVF in the pediatric population should take into consideration the size of the vein at the outflow (and not just at the anastomosis).