The National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines encourage more-frequent use of primary arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) in hemodialysis patients, because this ...

Arteriovenous fistulas are believed to be superior to grafts for vascular access in hemodialysis patients, but it is unclear whether this holds true in patients with a previous fistula failure.

As baseline levels of IL-6 prior to hemodialysis AVF creation increase, so does the risk for AVF failure. Elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) prior to surgery to create an arteriovenous ...