The IN.PACT AV Access study, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed that drug-coated balloons are superior for the treatment of stenotic lesions in arteriovenous fistulas for dialysis compared with conventional balloons.

Dialysis fistulas are an unknown territory for paclitaxel-eluting balloons, since the formal recommendation in the guidelines is conventional angioplasty (which, by the way, has rather poor outcomes).

The IN.PACT AV Access was a prospective, single-blinde trial including 330 patients at 29 international sites.

Patients with new or restenotic lesions in native upper-limb arteriovenous fistulas were eligible for participation. After successful angioplasty with high-pressure balloons, participants were randomly assigned to receive treatment with a drug-coated balloon or a standard balloon.

The primary endpoint was lesion patency, defined as freedom from new revascularization or access-circuit thrombosis within 6 months from the index procedure.

Read also: 2 Year Outcomes of Lutonix Drug Coated Balloon in Superficial Femoral Arteries.

After a 6-month follow-up, patency in participants who had been treated with a drug-coated balloon was 82.2% vs. 59.5% for those treated with conventional angioplasty (p < 0.001). Drug-coated balloons were non-inferior as regards the safety endpoint.

Conclusion

Drug-coated balloons are superior to standard angioplasty for the treatment of stenotic lesions in dysfunctional hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas.

Original Title: Drug-Coated Balloons for Dysfunctional Dialysis Arteriovenous Fistulas.

Reference: Robert A. Lookstein et al. N Engl J Med 2020;383:733-42. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1914617.

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