With small kidneys, EBKTs could provide sufficient renal mass but could lead to inefficient use of resources, while SKTs could result in insufficient function due to small renal mass. We aimed to compare the outcomes of EBKT and SKT from small donors weighing ≤15 kg to pediatric recipients. We retrospectively reviewed all pediatric patients who met the inclusion criteria between January 1, 1984, and April 30, 2019, at a single institution. Of a total of 23 patients, 12 received EBKT and 11 received SKT. The median age of donors, weight of donors, and weight of recipients were comparable between the two groups. The median age of recipients and median weight of allografts were greater in the EBKT group than in the SKT group. The median follow‐up was 53.9 months. There was no significant difference in eGFR, protein creatinine ratios at 1‐year follow‐up, and overall graft survival. The size of the kidney increased by approximately 13%‐43% in the EBKT group and 40%‐60% in the SKT group. This study demonstrated that kidneys from small donors weighing 5‐15 kg could be split in pediatric recipients without compromising the outcome.

Optimal antiplatelet therapy after endovascular therapy (EVT) for peripheral artery disease is controversial. This trial aimed to evaluate whether sarpogrelate plus aspirin was non-inferior for preventing early restenosis after femoropopliteal (FP) EVT compared to clopidogrel plus aspirin. In this open-label, prospective randomized trial, 272 patients were enrolled after successful EVT for FP lesions. Patients in each group received aspirin 100 mg and clopidogrel 75 mg or sarpogrelate 300 mg orally once per day for 6 months. The primary outcome was target lesion restenosis at 6 months, tested for noninferiority. Patient characteristics and EVT patterns were similar, except for increased inflow procedures in the sarpogrelate group and increased outflow procedures in the clopidogrel group. The sarpogrelate group showed a tendency of less restenosis at 6 months than the clopidogrel group (13.0% vs. 19.1%, difference 6.1 percentage points, 95% CI for noninferiority − 0.047 to 0.169). Secondary endpoints related to safety outcomes were rare in both groups. Risks of target lesion restenosis of the two intervention arm were uniform across most major subgroups except for those with coronary artery disease. In conclusion, Sarpogrelate plus aspirin is non-inferior to clopidogrel plus aspirin in preventing early restenosis after FP EVT. Larger multi-ethnic trials are required to generalize these findings. Trial registration: National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials Registry (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02959606; 09/11/2016).

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Objectives: The National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI) guidelines recommend forearm arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) as an alternative procedure to transposed basilic vein fistulas for providing secondary access during hemodialysis. Recently, autogenous elevated brachial-brachial vein fistulas (BVE) have become increasingly popular. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of BVE and forearm loop AVG (AVG) for secondary access in hemodialysis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who had received a BVE or forearm AVG at a single center from January 2015 to April 2019. In total, 19 BVE were created via two-stage operations and two via a one-stage operation; 53 forearm AVG’s were performed. Results: The AVG group was twice as likely to suffer loss of primary patency compared with the BVE group (odds ratio [OR], 2.666; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.108–6.412; p = 0.029) per the multivariate analysis. The primary patency and primary assisted patency of the BVE group were superior those of the AVG group, except for secondary patency ( p = 0.02, p = 0.07, p = 0.879, respectively). In subgroup analysis, there were no significant differences in primary, primary assisted, or secondary patency between AVG and BVE when brachial vein was used for AVG outflow. In addition, no significant differences were noted regarding the infection rate (12.5% vs 12.3%, p = 0.331, severity >0), postoperative bleeding rate (14.5% vs 3.5%, p = 0.191, severity >1), early thrombus rate (0.0% vs 10.5%, p = 0.122), and early failure rate (7% vs 4.8%, p = 0.591). Conclusions: The primary patency and primary assisted patency rates of BVE were significantly better than those observed in AVGs, but the complication rates were similar. The appropriate procedure to provide vascular access should be determined by the individual patient’s condition and the surgical skill of the operating surgeon.

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