What is meant by a “secondary” AV fistula?
In the context of the NVAII initiative, this is an AV fistula placed in a patient whose initial access was a graft. Staff should consider every graft patient a candidate for an AV fistula and should evaluate each patient for an AV fistula before the graft fails. In this way, a plan will be in place for providing the patient with an AV fistula when the graft begins to fail. This avoids the need for a catheter or missing an AV fistula opportunity when the graft fails and there is urgency for an immediate usable access.
