Arteriovenous fistula thrombosis is associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in haemodialysis patients from the AURORA trial

BACKGROUND: The impact of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or graft (AVG) thrombosis on mortality has been sparsely studied. This study investigated the association between AVF/AVG thrombosis and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. METHODS: The data from 2439 patients with AVF or AVG undergoing maintenance haemodialysis (HD) included in the A Study to Evaluate the Use of Rosuvastatin in Subjects on Regular Hemodialysis: An Assessment of Survival and Cardiovascular Events trial (AURORA) were analysed using a time-dependent Cox model. The incidence of vascular access (VA) thrombosis was a pre-specified secondary outcome. RESULTS: During follow-up, 278 AVF and 94 AVG thromboses were documented. VA was restored at 22 ± 64 days after thrombosis (27 patients had no restoration with subsequent permanent central catheter). In multivariable survival analysis adjusted for potential confounders, the occurrence of AVF/AVG thrombosis was associated with increased early and late all-cause mortality, with a more pronounced association with early all-cause mortality {hazard ratio [HR] < 90 days 2.70 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.83–3.97], P < 0.001; HR > 90 days 1.47 [1.20–1.80], P < 0.001}. In addition, the occurrence of AVF thrombosis was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality, whether VA was restored within 7 days [HR 1.34 (95% CI 1.02–1.75), P = 0.036] or later than 7 days [HR 1.81 (95% CI 1.29–2.53), P = 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS: AVF/AVG thrombosis should be considered as a major clinical event since it is strongly associated with increased mortality in patients on maintenance HD, especially in the first 90 days after the event and when access restoration occurs >7 days after thrombosis. Clinicians should pay particular attention to the timing of VA restoration and the management of these patients during this high-risk period. The potential benefit of targeting overall patient risk with more aggressive treatment after AVF/AVG restoration should be further explored.