Preferred haemodialysis vascular access for diabetic chronic kidney disease patients: a systematic literature review

BACKGROUND: Vascular access problems are one of the main concerns in the diabetic end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) population. However, the optimal strategy for the establishment of vascular access in this population remains to be solved. We performed a systematic review in order to clarify the most advisable approach of vascular access planning in diabetic patients with ESKD. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL databases were searched for English-language articles without time restriction through focused, high-sensitive search strategies. We included all studies providing outcome data on diabetics starting chronic haemodialysis treatment on the basis of the type of primary placed vascular access. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies comprising over 2,800 participants with diabetes were reviewed in detail and included in the review. We found that diabetic patients using a dialysis catheter apparently experience a higher risk of death and infection compared with patients who successfully achieved and maintained an arteriovenous fistula as dialysis access. The comparison between the use of a graft or an autogenous fistula as dialysis access generated conflicting results. Primary patency rates appeared to be lower in diabetics versus non-diabetics. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that diabetic ESKD patients with dialysis catheters incur a higher risk of death in comparison to those who achieve an arteriovenous access. It is however unclear whether this is caused by residual selection bias or by a true advantage of native vascular access.