Vascular access for hemodialysis in Italy: What a national survey reveals

Since in Italy there are no official data on vascular access (VA) for hemodialysis the Vascular Access Project Group (VAPG) of the Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN) designed a national survey.

A 35-question survey was designed and sent it to the Italian facilities through the SIN website. The basic questions were the prevalence, the location, and the surveillance of VA, the bedside use of ultrasound, the use of fluoroscopy for central venous catheter (CVC) placement, and of buttonhole technique, the role of nephrologist in the access creation.

The questionnaire was completed in June 2022 by 161 facilities. The survey registered 15,499 patients, approximately one-third of the Italian dialysis population. The prevalence of arteriovenous fistula (AVF), arteriovenous Graft (AVG), and CVC were 61.8%, 3.7%, and 34.5% respectively. The AVF location was 50% in distal forearm, 20% in meanproximal forearm, 30% in upper arm. For AVF creation, nephrologists were involved in 72% of facilities while for CVC placement in 62%. As regards VA monitoring, 21% of the facilities did not have a surveillance protocol; 60% did not register AVF thrombosis and 53% did not register CVC infections. Most of facilities use the fluoroscope during CVC placement, 37% when needed, and 22% never. Ultrasound-guided puncture of complex AVFs was used by 80% of facilities. Buttonhole puncture was used in 5% of patients.

Some considerations emerge from the survey data: (1) The increasing CVC prevalence compared to DOPPS 5 study. (2) The low rate of AVG prevalence. (3) The nephrologist is the operator in many VA procedures. (4) The fluoroscopy for CVC placement and the US-guide puncture of the complex AVF are widely used in most facilities. (5) The practice of the buttonhole is not widespread. (6) When the operator is the nephrologist more distal fistulas are performed.