Medical complications in hemodialysis patients requiring vascular access radiology procedures

Vascular access maintenance is crucial to providing adequate hemodialysis (HD) and hence preventing signs and symptoms of uremia. The best vascular assess is a permanent arteriovenous fistula (AVF) because it has the longest survival with the least number of complications. However, because of problems with AVF maturation, the majority of HD in the United States is provided via an arteriovenous graft (AVG) or tunneled cuffed central venous catheter. The most common access complications include infection and thrombosis. For these reasons, a patient is often referred to interventional radiology for a procedure such as a catheter placement, change, or a thrombectomy with angioplasty and/or stent placement. Commonly, a HD patient will present after missing a dialysis session. This might predispose the patient to further complications. This review is intended to provide insight into some of the common medical problems (infectious, hematologic, and cardiac) facing a HD patient as a consequence of uremia. Increased awareness to these medical issues provides guidance to prevent unnecessary complications in this difficult patient population.