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End Stage Renal DiseasesAUAPAVFONCT04141358

Advanced Ultrasound Applications for Predicting AVF Outcomes

An observational study of End Stage Renal Diseases and Renal Failure, run by Imperial College London at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Haemodialysis is a renal replacement therapy that can be introduced to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to help them maintain a good healthy life. The patient's blood is pumped through a dialysis machine to remove excess fluid, salt and waste, then it is pumped back into the patient's circulation system. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 90 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
Advanced ultrasound measurements
How many people
76 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
1 Nov 2021to 1 Apr 2024
How long will I take part?
6 Weeks
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 90 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: Patients selected for this protocol must have the necessity to undergo surgery to receive an Arterio-Venos Fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis in either arm.

Who may be able to join

  • >18 years age
  • <90 years age
  • End stage renal disease
  • Glomerular filtration rate < 30 ml/min/1.73m2

Who cannot join

  • <18 years age
  • > 90 years age
  • < 2cm vein diameter
  • Not end-stage renal disease
  • Pregnant patients will not be recruited in this study. Patients pregnancy status will be assessed on initial enrolment to exclude them from the study.
  • Those unable to provide consent.
  • Anyone who is taking part in any other research.
  • Potential participants who might not adequately understand verbal explanations or written information given in English, or who have special communication needs will not be included

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • Imperial College London

    London, w12 0hs

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: Using Ultrasound 2D Strain Speckle Tracking, 2D Shear Wave Elastography and Transonic Flowmeter as Diagnostic and Potential Predictor Tool for Arteriovenous Fistula Outcomes With End Stage Renal Failure.

Haemodialysis is a renal replacement therapy that can be introduced to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to help them maintain a good healthy life. The patient's blood is pumped through a dialysis machine to remove excess fluid, salt and waste, then it is pumped back into the patient's circulation system. In order to carry out haemodialysis, vascular access (VA) is required to connect the patient to the dialysis machine. Patients have only three options of vascular access: arteriovenous fistula (AVF), an anastomosis between a native vein and an artery; arteriovenous graft (AVG), a connection between a synthetic tube and native blood vessels; and (3) central line, a cuffed catheter placed in a large neck vein. Arteriovenous fistulas are the preferred method for VA because of their longevity and causing the least number of complications. Although there are a number of factors that may increase the probability of AVF failure rate such as age and gender of the patient, poor native vessel structure, medications and the level of surgical experience, 30-40% of new AVFs fail to mature for unknown reasons. For an AVF to become functionally mature postoperative, remodelling and dilation of the native artery and vein are essential to accommodate significantly increased blood flow. However, pre-existing diseases in patients with ESRD such as arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction may impair AVF and preclude dialysis. It has been asserted that the lack of AVF success is attributable to insufficient arterial dilation because of poor arterial wall elasticity.

The study aims to investigate the role of arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction in predicting AVF outcome using novel non-invasive ultrasound applications: 2D shear wave elastography and 2D strain speckle tracking will be employed to assess arterial stiffness, while an intraoperative flow-mediated dilation (FMD) technique will be used to evaluate endothelial dysfunction.

Read the detailed description

This is an observational prospective pilot study of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), who will be referred for AVF procedure.

Duration: 21 Months The research team will collect data from the patients after they have signed the informed consent form. Data collection will take place before, during and after arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surgery.

At 0 week, the patient will be interviewed to obtain clinical information. Also, blood pressure and body mass index will be checked and recorded. Next, pre-operative AVF assessment ultrasound measurements will be performed to assess flow, pulsatility and vessel diameter. Advanced ultrasound applications(2D strain speckle tracking and 2D Shear wave elastography) will be applied to assess arterial stiffness as additional measurement tools. These are quantitative measures of vessel stiffness. It takes less than five minutes to obtain these measurements from the imaged vessel.

During AVF surgery, the endothelial function will be assessed intraoperatively by testing the ability of the endothelium to dilate, flow mediation dilation (FMD). Leftover vessel specimens will be collected for histopathological analysis purpose.

At 6 week, post-AVF ultrasound assessment will be conducted to assess the maturation of AVF by measuring ultrasound parameters of blood flow, pulsatility and vessel diameter. Arterial stiffness parameters will be measured as well. Blood pressure and BMI will be assessed and recorded.

Study data will be entered into a study database which will consist of a password encrypted stored on a password-protected computer in the vascular lab at Hammersmith Hospital. Only the study researchers will know the study database password.

Data analysis will be performed after the enrolment of 20, 40 and 75 patients.

Being tested
Advanced ultrasound measurements
Keywords
Vascular Access, Endothelial Dysfunction, Vascular Stiffness, Arteriovenous Fistula
Medical subject headings
Renal Insufficiency, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic, Arteriovenous Fistula

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Advanced ultrasound measurementsDiagnostic test

    Clinical interventions and procedures:

    • Consent at 0 week
    • Clinical data collection at 0 week
    • Strain for native artery at 0 week
    • Young's modulus for native artery at 0 week
    • Intimal medial thickness for native artery at 0 week
    • Ultrasound blood volume flow measurement at 0 week
    • Vessel diameter at 0 week
    • Blood pressure at 0 week
    • BMI at 0 week
    • Intra-operative blood volume flow measurement at AVF surgery time
    • Strain for native artery at 6 weeks
    • Young's modulus native artery at 6 weeks
    • Intimal medial thickness native artery arteries at 6 weeks
    • Ultrasound blood volume flow measurement at 6 weeks
    • Vessel diameter at 6 weeks
    • Blood pressure at 6 weeks
    • BMI at 6 weeks
Study groups in NCT04141358
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Study groupPatients with end-stage renal disease who will undergo arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surgery will be recruited and follow-up them up to 6 weeks or until the AVF become suitable for hemodialysis.
Receives: Diagnostic Test: Advanced ultrasound measurements

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Patency of arteriovenous fistula according to ultrasound parameters

    Rate of blood volume flow >400 mL/min.

    Measured: 6 Weeks

  2. Arteriovenous fistula diameter

    Fistula considered to be patent if there is a minimum venous diameter of ≥ 5 mm.

    Measured: 6 Weeks

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Number of arteriovenous fistula successful use for haemodialysis.

    ≥ 3 uses on separate occasions post-arteriovenous fistula surgery.

    Measured: 10 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted28 Oct 2019
  2. Study start1 Nov 2021
  3. Primary completion1 Apr 2024
  4. Study completion1 Apr 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
76 participants (actual)
Target duration
6 Weeks
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04141358
Sponsor's protocol ID
19HH5550
Acronym
AUAPAVFO
Status last verified
Mar 2026
First submitted
23 Oct 2019
Last updated
4 Mar 2026
Results posted
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Kheda MF, Brenner LE, Patel MJ, Wynn JJ, White JJ, Prisant LM, Jones SA, Paulson WD. Influence of arterial elasticity and vessel dilatation on arteriovenous fistula maturation: a prospective cohort study. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2010 Feb;25(2):525-31. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfp462. Epub 2009 Sep 15.

    PubMed 19755475
  • McGrogan DG, Maxwell AP, Khawaja AZ, Inston NG. Current tools for prediction of arteriovenous fistula outcomes. Clin Kidney J. 2015 Jun;8(3):282-9. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfv019. Epub 2015 Apr 2.

    PubMed 26034589
  • Owens CD, Wake N, Kim JM, Hentschel D, Conte MS, Schanzer A. Endothelial function predicts positive arterial-venous fistula remodeling in subjects with stage IV and V chronic kidney disease. J Vasc Access. 2010 Oct-Dec;11(4):329-34. doi: 10.5301/jva.2010.5833.

    PubMed 21038305

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of End Stage Renal Diseases and Renal Failure, run by Imperial College London at 1 site in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Patency of arteriovenous fistula according to ultrasound parameters (time frame: 6 Weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04141358, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2026.

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