Femoral vein transposition is a durable hemodialysis access for patients who have exhausted upper extremity options.

OBJECTIVE: Access surgeons often encounter patients with end-stage renal disease who have exhausted all upper extremity hemodialysis access options. Although the lower extremity is often the next alternative, prosthetic lower extremity access can be prone to infectious complications and historically has poor patency. We describe our contemporary experience with an autogenous femoral vein transposition (FVT) arteriovenous fistula. METHODS: All FVTs performed at an academic medical center from 2006 to 2018 were analyzed. FVTs were placed after upper extremity access was deemed no longer possible by the treating surgeon. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and access history were described, and perioperative and short-term outcomes, including maturation, were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients treated with FVT were identified. The mean age was 55.3 ± 11.1 years; 23.8% were female, and 71.4% were African American. The median body mass index was 27.1 kg/m2 (range, 17-46 kg/m2). Comorbidities included hypertension (100%), diabetes (61.9%), coronary artery disease (57.1%), congestive heart failure (47.6%), and obesity (38.1%). Twenty patients had at least one prior arm access, whereas 13 patients (61.9%) had more than three prior arm accesses. Seventeen patients (81%) had central venous stenosis or occlusion confirmed on preoperative imaging. The mean operative time was 250 minutes (range, 144-406 minutes), and estimated blood loss was 140.5 mL. Preanastomotic tapering was performed in 20 (95.2%) patients. Four (19%) patients returned to the operating room within 30 days. Thirty-day postoperative cardiac and wound complications occurred in 9.5% and 19% of patients, respectively. Distal arterial ischemia requiring revascularization occurred in one (4.8%) patient at 7 months. There were no access-related infections that resulted in fistula ligation. There was no mortality at 30 days. Successful fistula maturation rate at 6 months was 88.9%. At 1 year, primary and secondary patency rates were 65.9%, and 94.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although autogenous FVT performed in patients without upper extremity options has a significant wound complication rate, it is associated with an outstanding maturation rate and excellent patency rates at 1 year. This access should be readily considered in hemodialysis patients without upper extremity access options.

Cyclophosphamide Induces an Early Wave of Acrolein-Independent Apoptosis in the Urothelium.

PURPOSE: Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC or bladder inflammation) affects a significant number of patients undergoing cyclophosphamide (CP) chemotherapy despite treatment with 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate (Mesna) to inactivate the metabolite acrolein. While the mechanism is unknown, there is clearly acrolein-independent damage to the urothelium. In this study we have explored the induction of apoptosis in the urothelium as a marker of damage and the mechanism underlying the acrolein-independent apoptosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Apoptosis in urothelium (caspase-3/7 activity and Poly (ADP-ribosyl) polymerase (PARP) cleavage) was measured following CP administration (80 mg/kg). Sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate (Mesna) was used to mask acrolein's effect. An IL-1ß receptor antagonist and a cell-permeable caspase-1 inhibitor were used to assess the involvement of IL-1ß and caspase-1, respectively. RESULTS: Two waves of apoptosis were detected following CP administration, one peaking at 2 h and a second at 48 h. The first wave was independent of acrolein. Caspase-1 was also active at 2 h and activation of caspase-3/7 was blocked by a caspase-1 inhibitor but not an IL-1ß receptor antagonist suggesting the direct activation of caspase-3/7 by caspase-1 without the need for IL-1ß as an intermediate. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that CP initiates an early, acrolein-independent wave of apoptosis that results from direct cleavage of caspase-3/7 by caspase-1.