title: 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.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001132:Arm / Q000098:blood supply; D001166:Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000601:surgery; D002302:Cardiac Output; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000637:transplantation; D002417:Cattle; D004301:Doppler Effect; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous