Back
For best output, select "Paper Size" as "A4" and "Margin" as "0" or "None".
To save or print to PDF, please select Print Destination > Save as PDF, enable Background Graphics under "More Settings", then click "Save".
During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
It is recommended that more than 60% of all patients with established ESKD commencing planned HD should receive dialysis via a functioning AVF or AVG. Proportion of prevalent dialysis patients with definitive access is targeted at ≥80%. In the Midlands, the prevalence of patients on dialysis with a definitive access is 70%, however there is a significant variation between centres, ranging from 57 to 86%. Of the 7,375 incident dialysis patients with dialysis access data in 2024, 47.9% started dialysis with definitive access (20.7% PD and 27.2% HD with an AVF or AVG), 32.5% with a tunnelled line and 19.6% with a temporary line. Effective vascular access (VA) is essential for optimal outcomes in haemodialysis patients, yet significant challenges remain in timely access creation and maintenance. In response, the Midlands Renal Network have established a regional VA collaboration to improve outcomes and standardise care across centres.
Our collaboration comprises multidisciplinary teams from 11 renal units across the Midlands. To better identify and share best practice, we developed an online survey to review current pathways and protocols within the region. The survey surrounded themes of vascular access team staffing, equipment availability, vascular access surveillance work and patient referral and education pathways, this was distributed electronically to all the renal units.
Across the renal centres, the median time to permanent VA if a patient started dialysis with a CVC was 12.5 weeks, with a range of 3 to 23 weeks.
The time allocated for vascular access work varied across the region. Nephrologists are allocated on average of 2 hours a week (range 0-28). On average there are zero dedicated theatre lists for VA (range 0-2.75), 3.25 theatre lists (range 1-13), 0.75 interventional radiology lists (range 0-13). Each list is around 4 hours.
Out of the 10 units which have responded to questions regarding US/VA surveillance, 10 (100%) have access to bedside ultrasound, 6 (60%) have a dedicated vascular access list to perform US vein mapping, 4 (40%) have a dedicated VA list to perform US for fistula/graft surveillance and (30%) routinely audit and perform VA surveillance.
7 (64%) of the centres conduct VA surveillance outside of clinics during HD by nurses or parameters and 4 (36%) do routine flow measurements.
Qualitative analysis demonstrated that renal centres feel that increased admin staff support and dedicated theatre and interventional radiology availability would improve their vascular access service.
Initial discussions with our regional group and these survey data have exposed variation across the region in service delivery and outcomes. We plan to launch a comprehensive regional audit of vascular access outcomes, develop a pathway to streamline pre-dialysis vascular access planning and improve timely AVF creation as well as organise a series of regional educational workshops for healthcare professionals and patient-focused sessions to improve understanding of vascular access options.
The Midlands Renal Network’s vascular access collaboration is at an early stage but is well-positioned to drive significant improvements in care delivery. Over the next year, the focus will be on establishing robust data collection, addressing barriers to timely vascular access creation, and fostering a culture of shared learning and continuous improvement across the network.
