Antiplatelet Therapy and Vascular-Access Patency

Current predictions estimate that by the year 2020, more than 750,000 people in the United States alone will have end-stage renal disease and over 500,000 will require hemodialysis.1 The success of hemodialysis depends on a well-functioning vascular access, which may be considered the patient's lifeline. However, creating and maintaining a vascular access are challenging and costly. In the first year of hemodialysis, care of the vascular access represents the leading cause of hospitalizations; overall costs are over $1 billion annually.2,3 The Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC) Study Group has taken the lead in advancing clinical knowledge of dialysis access dysfunction . . .