Prospective Analysis of Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow (HeRO) Vascular Access Graft vs. Cuffed Catheter Access in Hemodialysis

All eligible participants who provided informed consent were included in the study. Participants who refused HeRO Graft implantation, or did not have the HeRO Graft implanted for any other reason, were followed in the control group. Several patients did not receive the HeRO graft due to anatomical challenges and failure to complete both steps of the two-stage implant procedure. All consented participants who had an implanted HeRO Graft were followed in the study group. All participants were followed until the study end, withdrawal, loss to follow-up, or death. The analysis included only HeRO Graft patients and control patients who were not lost to follow-up; patients who were lost to follow-up, before data collection, were excluded from analysis.

After obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, baseline demographic and clinical data was collected. Following surgery, implant procedure data was collected on study participants who received HeRO Grafts. HeRO Grafts were placed using a 2-step process with initial placement of the ePTFE portion, followed by completion of the graft by placement of the venous outflow component. Following enrollment, outcomes of interest were collected at follow-up visits scheduled weekly for 4 weeks, bi-weekly for 3 months, and monthly to 1 year, for a total of 18 follow-up visits. Study coordinators documented post-operative complications, incidence of thrombosis, hospitalizations, infection incidents, and deaths at each follow-up.

Quality of life data were also collected from all participants using the RAND Corporation's Short Form (36) (SF-36) Health Survey. This survey was completed at enrollment and again at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months.