Obesity Increases the Risk of Primary Nonfunction and Early Access Loss, and Decreases Overall Patency in Patients Who Underwent Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow Device Placement.

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis reliable outflow (HeRO) catheters were introduced in 2008, and have been since providing a reliable alternative for hemodialysis patients who are deemed "access challenged." However, its outcomes have not been extensively investigated due to its relatively young age. Here, we report our 6-year single institution experience, and demonstrate the significant impact of obesity on HeRO graft outcomes, an aspect not previously studied in the literature.

METHODS: Patients who underwent HeRO graft placement at the University of Illinois Hospital between April 2009 and August 2015 were included retrospectively. Data were collected from patients' electronic medical records and analyzed using SPSS software.

RESULTS: Thirty-three patients who underwent 34 HeRO catheter placements were included. Mean age was 47 ± 12 years, and mean body mass index (BMI) was 30.75 ± 10.22. Median follow-up was 635 days. Overall catheter-related complications were thrombosis (70.59%), infection (20.59%), arterial steal (8.82%), and pseudoaneurysms requiring intervention (8.82%). Overall primary and secondary patency rates after 6 and 12 months were 31.25%, 25%, 78.13%, and 71.86%, respectively. Primary nonfunction rate was 14.7%. Obese patients had significantly higher rate of primary nonfunction (38.46% vs. 0%, P = 0.0046), and relative risk 3.62 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.01-6.52). They also had a significantly decreased rate of graft patency after 12 months (10.53% vs. 53.85%, P = 0.0227), leading to a relative risk of "early" graft loss within 1 year of 5.12 (95% CI 1.26-20.83). Overall median graft patency in obese patients was significantly shorter than that of nonobese patients (311 vs. 1295 days, P = 0.014). BMI, as a continuous variable, was a significant predictor of primary nonfunction (P = 0.046) and early graft loss (0.020) when tested against age, sex, race, and diabetes in a multivariate logistic regression analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: HeRO catheters offer a reliable, and possibly the last, alternative in hemodialysis access-challenged patients. In our population, obesity was a significant risk factor for primary nonfunction, early graft loss, and a shorter overall graft patency. BMI, as a continuous variable, can serve as a predictor of primary nonfunction and early graft loss after adjustment for age, race, sex, and diabetes. Obesity's effect on HeRO catheters has not been amply addressed; therefore further prospective studies are warranted.