Abstract: Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of drug-coated balloon angioplasty (DCBA) and conventional balloon angioplasty (CBA) in the treatment of venous stenosis in arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis access.  Methods  A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 152 hemodialysis patients with AVF stenosis and treated at Suzhou Municipal Hospital from November 2020 to April 2022. Based on the treatment method, they were divided into the drug-coated balloon (DCB) group (n=62) and the conventional balloon (CB) group (n=90). Kaplan-Meier curve was used to assess re-stenosis rate of the target lesion in both groups. Primary patency of the target lesion (TLPP) was compared after the operation for 6 months.  Results  All patients achieved technical and clinical success, and completed follow-up observation. There were no statistical differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups (P>0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test indicated that DCBA significantly prolonged the patency of AVF. TLPP after 6 months showed that the DCB group had higher patency rate compared to the CB group (OR=1.935, 95% CI:1.173～3.193, P=0.017).  Conclusion  Our research results indicate that DCBA improves the primary patency rate of AVFs better than CBA in hemodialysis patients, and DCBA also reduces the need for re-intervention of the target lesion. Therefore, DCBA is an effective and safe method for treatment of AVF stenosis.

Key words: Drug-coated balloon, Conventional balloon, Arteriovenous fistula stenosis, Hemodialysis access, HemodialysisR318.16