Association between Preoperative Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Late Arteriovenous Fistula Dysfunction in Hemodialysis Patients: A Cohort Study

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Inflammation appears to be at the biological core of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) dysfunction, and the occurrence of AVF dysfunction is related to high death and disability in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Despite several studies on the correlations between AVF dysfunction and inflammatory indicators, how AVF dysfunction is related to the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) is much unclear. We hypothesize that preoperative MLR is associated with AVF dysfunction in Chinese HD patients. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In this single-center retrospective cohort study, totally 769 adult HD patients with a new AVF created between 2011 and 2019 were included. Association of preoperative MLR with AVF dysfunction (thrombosis or decrease of normal vessel diameter by &#x3e;50%, requiring either surgical revision or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty) was assessed by multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The patients were aged 55.8 ± 12.2 years and were mostly males (55%). During the average 32-month follow-up (maximum 119 months), 223 (29.0%) patients had permanent vascular access dysfunction. In adjusted multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analyses, the risk of AVF dysfunction was 4.32 times higher with 1 unit increase in MLR (hazard ratio [HR]: 5.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.1–9.11). Compared with patients with MLR &#x3c;0.28, HRs associated with an MLR of 0.28–0.41 and ≥0.41 are 1.54 (95% CI: 1.02–2.32) and 3.17 (2.18–4.62), respectively. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> A higher preoperative MLR is independently connected with a severer risk of AVF dysfunction in HD patients. Its clinical value should be determined in the future.