Abstract
Background: Aortic arch calcification (AAC) is very common in hemodialysis patients and is associated with cardiovascular events and the incidence of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) failure. In order to predict the prognosis of patients, a study was conducted to determine the annual failure rate of AVF and its related factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 145 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who were AVF candidates, visiting a referral center in Golestan province of Iran. After the insertion of intravenous arterial fistulas, posterior-anterior chest x-rays were captured, and the grafts were classified by a radiologist. Patients were followed for one year, and the rates of fistula failure (FF) and cardiovascular mortality were recorded. Finally, the data were entered into SPSS 19 software and analyzed by the Chi-square test. Results: Of 112 patients followed up for one year, 56.2% were men. During the one-year follow-up period, 5.3% of the patients developed arteriovenous FF, and this event was more common in men, but the difference was not statistically significant. The majority of the AVF candidates had a history of diabetes and hypertension, but no association was found between the one-year FF rate and these two diseases. Nearly 7.7% of the patients had grade III calcification, but no significant relationship was observed between the AAC grade and AVF failure rate. Conclusions: The rate of one-year FF was higher among ESRD patients with a history of chronic kidney diseases. Our results also demonstrated that the mortality rate is higher in patients with a high degree of AAC and patients with medical history (cardiovascular disease and diabetes).