Effect of Regional Versus Local Anesthesia on Outcomes of Radiocephalic Arteriovenous Fistula Creation for Hemodialysis Access: A Prospective Randomized Study

Objectives: To investigate the effect of regional versus local anesthesia on perioperative outcomes in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis access. Materials and Methods: A total of 80 patients who underwent primary radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula were included in this study and randomly and equally divided into two groups; as regional anesthesia group (n=40) and local anesthesia group (n=40). The basic clinical characteristics and perioperative outcomes of the patients were recorded and compared between the groups. Results: The mean ages were 59.7 years in the regional anesthesia group and 60.4 years in the local anesthesia group. Twenty-nine (72.5%) of the patients in the regional anesthesia group and 26 (65%) of the patients in the local anesthesia group were male. The groups were statistically similar in terms of basic clinical characteristics. There were no significant differences in postoperative complications, including bleeding and wound infection, between the groups. There were no significant differences in immediate, primary, and functional patency rates between the groups, and both groups were statistically similar. Conclusion: Compared with local anesthesia, regional anesthesia has not significant impact on perioperative outcomes in patients with radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis access.