Outcomes of stent grafts for treatment of central venous disease in hemodialysis patients

Background: To evaluate the effectiveness of stent graft (SG) for the treatment of central venous disease (CVD) in hemodialysis patients. Methods: Between January 2014 and April 2022, 122 patients on hemodialysis with symptomatic CVD were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and bare-metal stent (BMS) or SG placement. The mean follow-up was 14.5 months (IQR: 8.0, 24.2). Patency rates of the target sites were calculated using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank studies. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between various characteristics and target site primary patency. Results: Technical success rate was 100%. At 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, the target sites primary patency rates were 86.4%, 74.2%, 45.1%, and 30.4% for PTA; 94.7%, 78.6%, 60.8%, and 45.6% for BMS; and 94.0%, 92.0%, 82.4%, and 66.8% for SG, respectively, and the assisted primary patency rates were 86.5%, 80.4%, 63.8%, and 46.0% for PTA; 94.7%, 89.5%, 77.5%, and 71.1% for BMS; 100%, 100%, 97.8%, and 83.4% for SG, respectively. The Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that SGs achieved better primary and assisted primary patency than PTA or BMS ( p<0.05). SG use and concomitant stenosis were the independent predictors of target site primary patency dysfunction in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions: This study confirmed the better long-term patency of SG in comparison with PTA and BMS for the treatment of CVD in hemodialysis patients.