Speaking to Vascular News at the 28th European Vascular Course (EVC; 9–11 March, Maastricht, The Netherlands), Maarten Snoeijs (Maastricht, The Netherlands) gives an update on the ongoing OASIS randomised controlled trial.
OASIS is set to determine the best strategy for vascular access creation—arteriovenous fistula, arteriovenous graft, or central venous catheter—in elderly haemodialysis patients. The trial has just completed patient enrolment. “There’s still controversy and clinical equipoise with regards to the best vascular access for these patients,” Snoeijs tells Vascular News. “We are actually the only randomised study that’s comparing the three different types of vascular access to each other.”
On the topic of data in the vascular access field more generally, Snoeijs underlines some of the pros and cons of registries. “Registry data are very important,” he says, highlighting quality control as one of the main benefits. However, Snoeijs also outlines the difficulty of finding the “manpower” to conduct extensive registries, among other drawbacks.
Snoeijs, who is the vascular access programme director at EVC, also draws attention to this year’s agenda. He highlights several hands-on workshops taking place at the meeting, on topics ranging from thrombectomy to open anastomosis creation and central venous catheter insertion strategies.
Alongside the workshops, Snoeijs mentions a “very interesting” scientific programme that includes a special session together with the dialysis nurses on vascular access cannulation and another on the basic science of vascular access.
