Intraoperative pneumatic tourniquet use may improve the clinical outcomes of arteriovenous fistula creations.

OBJECTIVES

A major pathology affecting the usability of arteriovenous fistulas for hemodialysis is juxta-anastomosis stenosis. Intraoperative pneumatic tourniquet eliminates the use of vascular clamps, reduces vascular trauma, and may then reduce the juxta-anastomosis stenosis. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of arteriovenous fistula creations using the tourniquet-assisted approach versus the clamp-assisted approach.

METHODS

This retrospective study analyzed the outcomes of primary arteriovenous fistulas created by the lead author from 2008 to 2017 and met the specified inclusion criteria applied to both groups.

RESULTS

A total of 575 patients were included. Upon comparing the tourniquet group (n = 411) with the clamp group (n = 164): the primary arteriovenous fistula failure rate was significantly lower (2.4% vs 7.3%, p = 0.01); the percentage of arteriovenous fistula used for hemodialysis without initial interventions was significantly higher (71.5% vs 45.1%, p < 0.001) and with initial interventions was conversely lower (26.0% vs 47.6%, p < 0.001); the primary patency rate of the whole fistula conduits was significantly higher (44.2% vs 23.0% at 1 year, p < 0.001) and so was the cumulative patency rate (97.2% vs 92.6% at 1 year, p < 0.001); and the juxta-anastomosis primary patency rate (free of interventions for the juxta-anastomosis region) was higher (71.0% vs 47.8% at 1 year, p < 0.001). Based on multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses, the effect of tourniquet use on the juxta-anastomosis primary patency remained significant (hazard ratio = 2.24, 95% confidence interval = 1.72-2.93, p < 0.001) when other significant factors (fistula location, gender, and diabetes) were considered.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative pneumatic tourniquet may significantly improve the clinical outcomes of arteriovenous fistula creations by reducing juxta-anastomosis trauma and subsequent stenosis.