Post-angioplasty Far Infrared Radiation Therapy Improves 1-Year Angioplasty-Free Hemodialysis Access Patency of Recurrent Obstructive Lesions

ObjectiveTo explore the role of far infrared (FIR) radiation therapy for hemodialysis (HD) access maintenance after percutaneous transluminal angioplasties (PTA).MethodsThis was a prospective observational study. Eligible patients were those who received repeated PTA with the last PTA successfully performed within 1 week before the study enrollments. Consecutively enrolled patients undergoing successful HD treatments after PTA were randomly assigned to the FIR-radiated group or control group without radiation. FIR-radiated therapy meaning 40-minute radiation at the major lesion site or anastomosed site three times a week was continued until an end-point defined as dysfunction-driven re-PTA or the study end was reached.ResultsOf 216 participants analyzed, including 97 with arteriovenous grafts (AVG) (49 FIR-radiated participants and 48 control participants) and 119 with arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) (69 FIR-radiated participants and 50 control participants), the FIR-radiated therapy compared with free-radiated usual therapy significantly enhanced PTA-unassisted patency at 1 year in the AVG subgroup (16.3% vs. 2.1%; p < .01), but not the AVF subgroup (25.0% vs. 18.4%; p = .50), and this accounted for the overall improved patency rates (21.4% vs. 10.3%; p = .02).ConclusionsThis study suggests FIR-radiated therapy improves PTA-unassisted patency in patients with AVG who have undergone previous PTA.