The upper arm arterio-venous fistula--an alternative for vascular access in haemodialysis

Forty-eight consecutive arteriovenous fistulae of the upper arm constructed in 44 patients between 1983 and 1987 were reviewed. The median observation time was 8.5 months (range 1 day-65 months). The overall patency rate for fistulae used for haemodialysis (early failures excluded) was 50% after one year and 38% after two years. However, only six (18.7%) of the used fistulae stopped because of thrombosis. The total number of thromboses was nine (19.6%). The main cause of discontinuance of fistulae was a high number of deaths (n = 22), presumably a result of a high median age of 62 years. Early failure rate was seven of 46 (15.2%); in three cases (6.5%) this was caused by thrombosis. The results are compared to other alternatives for radiocephalic fistulae and the difficulties of comparisons are discussed. It is concluded that the upper arm arteriovenous fistula can serve as a second choice, when a radio-cephalic fistula fails.