Abstract
An arteriovenous fistula (AVF) remains the preferred access for providing maintenance hemodialysis therapy. An AVF is commonly created in the forearm or the upper arm using native vessels, and it generally matures over a 2–3-month period. A dysfunctional AVF due to primary maturation failure is a common problem encountered in clinical practice. The skills needed to perform a thorough and accurate physical examination of an AVF can be easily learned by everyone involved in the care of a dialysis patient. A thrill is produced because of the turbulence generated by the high-pressure arterial blood flowing across the anastomosis into a low-pressure thin-walled vein. A faint thrill is an indicator of pathology in the inflow segment of the AVF, and the algorithm to identify the abnormality within the dialysis access circuit is discussed here.
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Vachharajani, T.J. (2014). Approach to an Arteriovenous Access with a Faint Thrill. In: Yevzlin, A., Asif, A., Salman, L. (eds) Interventional Nephrology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8803-3_15
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