May saw comprehensive coverage of the 2023 Charing Cross Symposium (CX 2023; 25–27 April, London, UK), with deep dives into cost effectiveness and endovascular arteriovenous fistulas (endoAVFs). Elsewhere, peritoneal dialysis and follow-up took the focus.
Attendees at CX 2023’s renal interventions session were treated to two presentations exploring the issue of cost effectiveness in renal care—and whether it should take priority over outcomes. In the corner of cost effectiveness was Jeremy Crane (Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK), but before him came Alexandros Mallios (Hôpital Paris Saint-Joseph, Paris, France), who insisted that outcomes should come first.
An association was found between early follow-up evaluation in the wake of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation procedures and reduced time to successful cannulation for dialysis by the authors of a report in the Annals of Vascular Surgery.
Published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS), new research by Theodore H Yuo (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, USA) and others drew a favourable comparison on maturation rates between endovascular arteriovenous fistulas (endoAVF) and surgical AVF (sAVF), but suggested that further interventions and patient selection may play a role in elevating endoAVFs’ maturation rates.
In a first-to-podium presentation during the vascular access masterclass at CX 2023, Frans Moll (University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands) provided the audience with an update on the novel Axess graft (Xeltis), which is intended to improve haemodialysis access outcomes via endogenous tissue restoration (ETR).
Kate Steiner (Stevenage, UK) led a discussion of next-generation endoAVF devices at CX 2023. Joining her was Robert Shahverdyan (Hamburg, Germany) and Simon Hogan (London, UK), who offer a preview of “endoAVF 2.0”.
The renal interventions session at CX 2023 yielded a rich vein of education and audience participation on everything from stent positioning to interventional training. With speakers including Matthew Gibson (Berkshire Imaging, Reading, United Kingdom) and Robert Shahverdyan, its talks provided a wide snapshot of the renal space.
A new study in Hemodialysis International suggested that balloon angioplasty for maturation assistance can be as effective in these smaller veins veins smaller than 3mm in diameter as in those larger.
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) has a number of advantages over haemodialysis—yet with a few exceptions, it is underutilised in most countries. So went the argument of transplant surgeon Frank Dor (Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK) when he spoke as part of the CX 2023 renal interventions session.
The DBB-EXA dialysis machine (Nikkiso) consistently underestimates vascular access (VA) flow rates compared with the Transonic technique of measurement—that was the conclusion of a new study in the Journal of Vascular Access which compared the two methods.
Neghae Mawla (Dallas Nephrology Associates, Dallas, USA) of the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology (ASDIN) is an interventional nephrologist (IN) and a passionate advocate for the specialty. He spoke to Renal Interventions to explore interventional nephrology’s unique position in dialysis access care, the technologies that most excite him, as well as his award-winning barbecue products.