RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Delay in care of suspected stenosis or thrombosis can increase the chance of losing a functioning hemodialysis access. Access to care and resources were restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic. To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and arteriovenous graft (AVG) procedures we have assessed the number and success of thrombectomies done before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We examined all AVF and AVG angiograms with and without interventions, including thrombectomies, performed at a single center during April 2017-March 2021 (pre-COVID-19 era) and April 2020-March 2021 (COVID-19 era). RESULTS: The proportion of procedures that were thrombectomies was higher during the COVID-19 era compared to the pre-COVID-19 era (13.3% vs 8.7%, p = 0.009). The proportion of thrombectomy procedures was higher during COVID-19 for AVF (8.2% vs 3.0%, p < 0.001) but there was no difference for AVG (26.5% vs 27%, p = 0.99). There was a trend toward a higher likelihood of unsuccessful thrombectomy during COVID-19 (33.3% vs 20.4%, p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: More dialysis access thromboses and unsuccessful thrombectomies were noted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This difference could be due to a delay in patients getting procedures to maintain their dialysis accesses.
RESUMO
A composite material of a silica-based mesoporous molecular sieve, MCM-41, with conducting polyaniline (PANI) inside the uniformly aligned one-dimensional channels (PANI/MCM-41) was prepared and its nanocomposite formation was confirmed through an electrical conductivity measurement. This nanocomposite particle was adopted for a dispersed phase in electrorheological (ER) fluids, and the ER property was measured using a Couette-type rotational rheometer equipped with a high voltage generator. Suspension of PANI/MCM-41 showed ER properties more enhanced than those of MCM-41 or PANI alone as a result of the anisotropic polarization of the PANI/MCM-41 nanocomposite.
