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Abstract: TH-PO296

Global Dialysis Vascular Access Care: A Multi-Specialty Interest

Session Information

Category: Dialysis

  • 703 Dialysis: Vascular Access

Authors

  • Hassanein, Mohamed, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, United States
  • Hernandez Garcilazo, Nora H., Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
  • Khor, Si Yuan, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
  • Elmaleh, Hassan, Ministry of Health In Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
  • Moustafa, Khaled Mahmoud, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria, Egypt
  • Vachharajani, Tushar J., Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Background

The history of dialysis vascular access dates back to 1924 in Germany when Dr. George Haas connected an artery and vein using a glass cannula. Since then, dialysis vascular access care has evolved robustly through scientific contributions from researchers worldwide. We sought to identify the global distribution and contribution of medical specialties to the medical literature on dialysis vascular access care over the past 3 decades.

Methods

We performed a thorough literature search of articles related to dialysis vascular access published in the English medical literature from 1991 to 2021. We identified and analyzed 2,768 articles from 74 countries worldwide and stratified them by article type and medical specialty.

Results

Out of 2,768 articles, 41.5% (1148) originated from the United States, followed by China (5.1%), United Kingdom (4.6%), Germany (3.6%), India (3.4%), Japan (3.1%) and Canada (2.9%). Forty-three percent of search results (1205) were observational studies, followed by 27% (761) case reports/series, 16.5% (458) review articles, 12% (335) clinical trials and 0.3% (9) meta-analyses. The majority of articles (49%) were published in nephrology journals, followed by 14%, 10%, 8%, and 4% of articles published in general medicine, surgery, vascular medicine, and interventional radiology journals, respectively.

Conclusion

Dialysis vascular access care is provided by specialists with multiple backgrounds across the globe. Thirty-nine percent of the evidence is published from developing countries. Retrospective observational studies along with case reports/series provide 88% of the current evidence for clinical practice. Barely 12% of the published literature is from prospective clinical trials. Even though providers with multiple training backgrounds are involved with dialysis vascular access care, almost 49% of the scientific evidence is published in journals catering to the nephrologists. The literature trend highlights the need for better collaboration across all specialties to effectively improve patient care.