Abstract: Objective To study the effects of atorvastatin calcium on internal arteriovenous fistula in elderly uremic patients, and thereby to understand the effects of statins on vascular intima. Methods A total of 90 elderly uremic patients on hemodialysis were randomly divided into statin treatment group (n=45) and control group (n=45). 20mg of atorvastatin calcium were given orally every night to the patients in treatment group but not to those in control group. Changes of lipids indexes, vessel diameters, fistula orifice size, and blood flow were evaluated in treatment group before and after the therapy. Complications and fistula function were compared between treatment group and control group. Results In treatment group, TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C changed significantly after stain therapy compared to those indexes before treatment (P=0.027, 0.014, 0.032, and 0.011, respectively), diameters of radial artery and cephalic vein of the fistula, blood volume in fistula, and fistula orifice size changed significantly after stain therapy compared to those in control group (P=0.003, 0.012, 0.039 and 0.007, respectively). In treatment group and control group, fistula complications within 2 years were 6.7% and 55.6%, respectively (P=0.002), functional fistula rate was 97.8% and 2.2%, respectively (P=0.012), and dysfunctional fistula rate was 71.1% and 26.7%, respectively (P=0.027). Conclusion Statins can improve the function and lifespan of internal arteriovenous fistula in elderly uremic patients.

Key words: Statins, Uremia, Arteriovenous