Fish Oil Taken After AV Graft Creation Beneficial

Fish oil supplementation is associated with cardiovascular benefits in patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease following creation of a synthetic arteriovenous graft for hemodialysis access, according to study findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2012;307:1809-1816).

In the study, 99 patients took four 1 gram capsules of fish oil and 97 took placebo on the seventh day following graft creation. After 12 months, compared with the placebo group, the fish-oil group experienced a lower rate of graft failure (3.43 vs. 5.95 per 1,000 access-days), half as many thromboses (1.71 vs. 3.41 per 1,000 access-days), fewer corrective interventions (2.89 vs. 4.92 per 1,000 access-days), improved cardiovascular-event-free survival, and lower mean systolic blood pressure. Loss of native patency did not differ significantly between the groups, however.