<b><i>Background:</i></b> Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) have proven to be effective contributors to high-quality health care. We examined the beneficial role AI can play in noninvasively grading vascular access aneurysms to reduce high-morbidity events, such as rupture, in ESRD patients on hemodialysis. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Our AI instrument noninvasively examines and grades aneurysms in both arteriovenous fistulas and arteriovenous grafts. Aneurysm stages were adjudicated by 3 vascular specialists, based on a grading system that focuses on actions that need to be taken. Our automatic classification of aneurysms builds on 2 components: (a) the use of smartphone technology to capture aneurysm appearance and (b) the analysis of these images using a cloud-based convolutional neural network (CNN). <b><i>Results:</i></b> There was a high degree of correlation between our noninvasive AI instrument and the results of the adjudication by the vascular experts. Our results indicate that CNN can automatically classify aneurysms. We achieved a >90% classification accuracy in the validation images. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This is the first quality improvement project to show that an AI instrument can reliably grade vascular access aneurysms in a noninvasive way, allowing rapid assessments to be made on patients who would otherwise be at risk for highly morbid events. Moreover, these AI-assisted assessments can be made without having to schedule separate appointments and potentially even via telehealth.
Introduction: Hemodialysis patients with an arteriovenous fistula can use buttonhole techniques for cannulation. Although buttonholes generally work well, patients may report difficult and painful cannulation, and buttonholes may fail over time. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of tract dilation in treatment of failing buttonholes. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients treated with buttonhole tract dilation at an outpatient vascular access center between January 2013 and August 2015. Results: Data from 23 patients were analyzed. There were 51 tract dilation procedures during 36 encounters for failing arteriovenous fistula buttonhole tract(s). The technical success rate for established tract dilation with "bluntrecanalization" was 90% (n = 46). The five remaining buttonholes had "sharp-recanalization" to create and dilate new tract through the buttonhole. For 46 buttonholes treated with "blunt-recanalization," there was an 85% clinical success rate at one week (39 buttonholes), and one was lost to follow-up; there was a 70% clinical success rate after one month (32 buttonholes). In the five buttonholes with "sharp-recanalization," there was only one clinical success with p < 0.05 for difference in success rate compared to "blunt-recanalization" at both one week and one month. There was one complication from "sharp-recanalization" requiring abandonment of the buttonhole tract. Discussion: Buttonhole tract dilation is a useful method to treat difficult cannulation and painful cannulation and has the potential to extend the life of failing buttonholes.
Background We evaluated restenosis rates at the cephalic arch after percutaneous angioplasty and stenting procedures in patients with brachial artery to cephalic vein arteriovenous fistula (BCAVF) hemodialysis access. Methods We used data from adult hemodialysis patients treated at a national network of 44 outpatient interventional facilities during Oct 2011–2015. We included data from patients with BCAVF who received an exclusive angioplasty, or stent with angioplasty, for treatment of cephalic arch stenosis and had ≥1 subsequent evaluation of the cephalic arch. Median percent restenosis per month at cephalic arch and days between encounters was calculated from the 1st index to 2nd procedure, and for up to 4 subsequent encounters. Analyses were stratified by intervention and device types. Results We identified a cohort of 3301 patients (mean age 62.2 ± 13.9 years, 58.5% male, 33.2% white race) with a BCAVF who had an angioplasty, or stent, at the cephalic arch for an index and ≥ 1 follow-up procedure. Between the 1st index to 2nd procedure, patients who received an angioplasty (n = 2663) or stent (n = 933) showed a median decrease of 18.9 and 16.5% in luminal diameter per month and a median time of 93 and 91 days between encounters, respectively. Restenosis and day rates were similar for standard versus high-pressure angioplasties. Bare metal stents showed 10.1 percentage point higher restenosis rate compared to stent grafts. Restenosis rates and time to restenosis were relatively consistent across subsequent encounters. Conclusions Findings suggest hemodialysis patients with a BCAVF who require an angioplasty or stent to treat a stenosis at the cephalic arch will have stenosis reformed at a rate of 18.9 and 16.5% per month after the first intervention, respectively. Findings suggest patients are at risk of having significant lesions at the cephalic arch within 3 months after the previous intervention.
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