Haemoglobin level and vascular access survival in haemodialysis patients

Background. A full correction of anaemia in haemodialysis (HD) patients may lead to an increased risk of vascular access (VA) failure. We studied the relationship between haemoglobin (Hb) level and VA survival. Methods. Incident patients between January 2000 and December 2002 with 65 years (RR: 1.32; P = 0.11) and iPTH (RR: 1.56; P = 0.01) were identified as predictive factors for VA failure; ACE inhibitors or ARB (RR: 0.69; P = 0.03) were found to be protective factors. Conclusions. In the studied population, the correction of Hb level to >12 g/dl was not associated with a higher incidence of VA thrombosis than in patients with Hb between 10 and 12 g/dl. ACE inhibitors or ARBs were found to be protective factors, and diabetes, age >65 years and iPTH >400 pg/ml were negative predictive factors for VA survival.