A Noninvasive Determination of Fistula Blood Flow in Dialysis Patients

Abstract

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) blood flow was evaluated in 32 dialysis patients using a pulsed Doppler velocimeter with two dominant features: a range-gated time system and a double transducer probe. With the proposed apparatus, the observation angle between the ultrasound beam and the vessel axis was known. In radial AVF, blood flow was 728 +/- 53 ml/min and was negatively correlated with the age of the AVF (r = -0.62; p less than 0.01). In brachial AVF, blood flow was 778 +/- 152 ml/min. In bovine heterograft AVF, blood flow was 1,225 +/- 125 ml/min. In the overall population, a negative relationship was observed between the diameter of the fistula and the blood flow velocity (r = -0.57; p less than 0.01). The study describes an accurate noninvasive method for the determination of fistula blood flow in dialysis patients, which may be helpful in the follow-up of the regional hemodynamics of this vascular access.