RESUMO
We encountered the rare case of a 48-year-old Caucasian woman who developed Takayasu arteritis (TA) while suffering from seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Several studies have reported an association between TA and various autoimmune disorders, however, the concurrent presence of Takayasu arteritis and rheumatoid arthritis is described in only few cases in the literature to date. The exact nature of the relationship between TA and RA remains unknown. Perhaps the development of these two diseases represents non-specific systemic inflammatory changes in the presence of a hereditary background predisposing to both RA and TA.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To compare the brachiocephalic (BC) and basilic vein transposition (BVT) arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with regard to maturation, patency, blood flow and complication rates. DESIGN: A retrospective chart review. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Between January 2000 and December 2010, consecutive patients undergoing BC or BVT AVF were included. Patient characteristics were collected retrospectively from digital patient files and a prospective database of haemodialysis patients. RESULTS: A total of 173 autologous upper arm AVFs (87 BC and 86 BVT) were created in 151 patients. Mean (±SEM) follow-up was 19 ± 1.4 months (range 0-100). There were no differences between the groups in respect to brachial artery and cubital fossa vein diameters, time to first use, flow and the number of secondary interventions. Operative time was significantly longer (P < 0.001) and the mid upper arm vein diameter before bifurcation greater (P = 0.038) in BVT patients. The 1- and 2-year primary patency rates for the whole cohort was 40.8% and 30.2% with secondary patency rates of 78.0% and 72.4%. There was no difference between the groups for these outcomes (P = 0.951, P = 0.516, respectively). CONCLUSION: With the exception of the efferent vein diameter in the mid upper arm and operative time, there was no difference between a BC and BVT AVF.
