An observational study on transposed brachial artery ‒ Basilic vein AV fistula in vascular access for hemodialysis

Background: Dialysis access in patients of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on long-term hemodialysis is a problem area. Patients with poor caliber veins distally on initial evaluation or with multiple fistula failures, basilic vein transposition is a good alternative. We present our experience with basilic vein transposition at our center. Methods: This study was a single-center observational study. A retrospective review of prospectively collected data from December 2013 to June 2019 was done. Qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies/percentages and compared between groups using the Chi-square test. Quantitative variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and compared between groups using unpaired t-test between groups and paired t-test within groups across follow-ups. Multiple linear regression analysis using a stepwise model selection tool was used to assess factors affecting the first cannulation. The best model was arrived in four steps where explanatory power (R2) increased from 66.6% to 79.3% (P < 0.001). Results: One hundred and eighty-eight patients formed a part of the study. One hundred and sixty-four patients underwent single stage, whereas 24 underwent two-stage transposition. Ninety-four each were male and female. The mean age was 51.38 ± 14.74 years. About 96.27% of fistulas underwent successful cannulation. The overall mean maturation time was 44.46 ± 7.21 days. It was 42.28 ± 3.71 for single and 60.27 ± 6.66 days for two-stage procedures. Primary patency at 6 months and 1 year were 92.82% and 85.67%, whereas primary-assisted patency rates were 94.6% and 91%. The secondary patency rate at 1 year was 60.77%. Salvage procedures included thrombolysis in 2, thrombectomy in 18, and thrombectomy with venoplasty in four cases. There were 28 failures. Fistula thrombosis was the most common cause. Complications included transient arm edema in 36.7%, late thrombosis in 7.7%, wound infection in 4.4%, and lymphorrhea in 6.9% of patients. Conclusion: The smallest basilic vein diameter for successful transposition is 2.5 mm. Factors used to predict successful maturation are initial vein diameter ≥2.5 mm, preoperative Peak systolic velocity (PSV) in brachial artery >70 cm/s, fistula flow rate of >400 ml/min at 6 weeks, and fistula diameter >4.5 mm at 06 weeks.