Dialysis access-related distal ischaemia is a rare yet potentially rather risky complication of haemodialysis angioaccess. Timely diagnosis is crucial to target both the goals of the access team: first of all to preserve the function of the hand ideally along with angioaccess patency. Unfortunately for some patients, urgent access ligation and central vein catheter insertion would be needed to save the hand. After a first clinical examination to determine the diagnostic suspicion, the ultrasound evaluation would provide nearly all the needed information to confirm the diagnosis and to determine the most appropriate procedure to rescue the patient from distal ischaemia. In some cases, photoplethysmography would help in the differential diagnosis of other non-ischaemic causes of similar signs and symptoms. Angiography would complete the preoperative evaluation for some.Dialysis access-related distal ischaemia would be briefly reviewed, and a deep description of the ultrasound examination tools and findings would be provided for a tailored therapeutic approach.

3rd Department of Internal Medicine 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine Sapienza University of Rome Nephrology Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital Rome Italy

Interventional Nephrology Nephrology and Dialysis Unit Nuova ITOR Rome Italy

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Arteriovenous Hemodialysis Access Stenosis Diagnosed by Duplex Doppler Ultrasonography: A Review