Arteriovenous Graft Failure in the Veterans Health Administration: Outcome Disparities Associated with Race.

Background Vascular access for ongoing hemodialysis often fails, frequently requiring repeated procedures to maintain vascular patency. While research has shown racial discrepancies in multiple aspects of renal failure treatment, there is poor understanding of how these factors might relate to vascular access maintenance procedures after arteriovenous graft (AVG) placement. Purpose To evaluate racial disparities associated with premature vascular access failure after percutaneous access maintenance procedures following AVG placement using a retrospective national cohort from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Materials and Methods All hemodialysis vascular maintenance procedures performed at VHA hospitals between October 2016 and March 2020 were identified. To ensure the sample represented patients who consistently used the VHA, patients without AVG placement within 5 years of their first maintenance procedure were excluded. Access failure was defined as a repeat access maintenance procedure or as hemodialysis catheter placement occurring 1-30 days after the index procedure. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) measuring the association between hemodialysis maintenance failure and African American race compared with all other races. Models controlled for vascular access history, patient socioeconomic status, and procedure and facility characteristics. Results In total, 1950 access maintenance procedures in 995 patients (mean age, 69 years ± 9 [SD], 1870 men) with an AVG created in one of 61 VHA facilities were identified. Most procedures involved African American patients (1169 of 1950, 60%) and patients residing in the South (1002 of 1950, 51%). Premature access failure occurred in 215 of 1950 (11%) procedures. When compared with all other races, African American race was associated with premature access site failure (PR, 1.4; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.43;