TY - JOUR PY - 2018/04/17 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) Self-Care: A Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan JF - Annals of King Edward Medical University JA - Annals KEMU VL - 24 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.21649/akemu.v24i1.2344 UR - https://annalskemu.org/journal/index.php/annals/article/view/2344 SP - 706-712 AB - <p>Most complications associated with the use of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) access site for hemodialysis&nbsp;can be prevented by adopting a daily self-care plan for AVF access site. Therefore, the aim of&nbsp;this study was set to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about self-care of AVF access site&nbsp;amongst end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who are on maintenance hemodialysis.&nbsp;Methods: This comparative cross sectional study with quantitative approach was carried out in hemodialysis&nbsp;unit of Shalamar Institute of Health Sciences, Lahore for the month of July, 2017. All patients with ESRD,&nbsp;on maintenance hemodialysis through an AVF access for at least last 30 days, were included in the study.&nbsp;Each patient was given a questionnaire comprising of 21 questions during his/her routine dialysis. Knowledge&nbsp;of ESRD patients was categorized into poor (&lt;50%), average (50-70%) and good (&gt; 70%).&nbsp;Results: Out of 138 patients, 94% had good knowledge about AVF self-care and 99% had good attitude&nbsp;about AVF access care. However a few practices like daily AVF thrill checkup, pre-hemodialysis AVF site&nbsp;washing and pre and post hemodialysis disinfection were not in correspondence with the level of knowledge&nbsp;representing a discrepancy between knowledge and practice in some aspects of the of the AVF care. Knowledge&nbsp;scores when compared between different age groups, greater proportion of patients between age of 45-&nbsp;65 (p&lt;0.017) possessed good knowledge as compared to age groups of 25-45, 65-85 years.&nbsp;Conclusion: Despite good understanding and adequate attitude, few practices were not being followed in&nbsp;parallel to the knowledge acquisition. Therefore, regular reminder and periodic evaluation of practical aspects&nbsp;of AVF care is recommended for each ESRD patient visiting for hemodialysis.</p> ER -