clinical study of the bard® covera™ arteriovenous (av) stent graft

Conditions: Stenosis; Restenosis

Summary: the objective of this study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of the covera™ vascular covered stent for the treatment of stenotic lesions in the upper extremity venous outflow of the arteriovenous (av) access circuit.

this study will compare the use of the covera™ vascular covered stent (following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (pta)) to pta alone for the treatment of stenotic lesions in the upper extremity venous outflow of the arteriovenous (av) access circuit of subjects dialyzing with an av fistula.

Eligibility criteria:
clinical inclusion criteria: * subject must voluntarily sign and date the informed consent form (icf) prior to collection of study data or performance of study procedures. * subject must be either a male or non-pregnant female ≥ 21 years of age with an expected lifespan sufficient to allow for completion of all study procedures. * subject must be willing to comply with the protocol requirements, including the clinical and telephone follow-up. * subject must have an upper extremity arteriovenous (av) fistula that has undergone at least one successful dialysis session with two-needle cannulation, prior to the index procedure. angiographic inclusion criteria: * subject must have angiographic evidence of a stenosis ≥ 50% (by visual estimation) located in the venous outflow of the av access circuit and present with clinical or hemodynamic evidence of av fistula dysfunction. * the target lesion must be ≤ 9cm in length. note: multiple stenoses may exist within the target lesion. * the reference vessel diameter of the adjacent non-stenotic vein must be between 5.0 and 9.0mm. clinical exclusion criteria: * the subject is dialyzing with an av graft. * the target lesion has had a corresponding thrombosis treated within 7 days prior to the index procedure. * the hemodialysis access is located in the lower extremity. * the subject has an infected av fistula or uncontrolled systemic infection. * the subject has a known uncontrolled blood coagulation/bleeding disorder. * the subject has a known allergy or hypersensitivity to contrast media which cannot be adequately pre-medicated. * the subject has a known hypersensitivity to nickel-titanium (nitinol) or tantalum. * the subject has another medical condition, which, in the opinion of the investigator, may cause him/her to be non-compliant with the protocol, confound the data interpretation, or is associated with a life expectancy insufficient to allow for the completion of study procedures and follow-up. * the subject is currently participating in an investigational drug or another device study that has not completed the study treatment or that clinically interferes with the study endpoints. note: studies requiring extended follow-up visits for products that were investigational, but have since become commercially available, are not considered investigational studies. angiographic exclusion criteria: * additional stenotic lesions (≥ 50%) in the venous outflow that are \> 3cm from the edge of the target lesion and are not successfully treated (defined as \< 30% residual stenosis) prior to treating the target lesion. * an aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm is present within the target lesion. * the location of the target lesion would require the covera™ vascular covered stent be deployed across the elbow joint. * the target lesion is located within a stent. * the location of the target lesion would require that the covera™ vascular covered stent be deployed at or across the segment of fistula utilized for dialysis needle puncture (i.e., "cannulation zone"). * the location of the target lesion would require that the covera™ vascular covered stent be placed in the central veins (subclavian, brachiocephalic, superior vena cava (svc)) or under the clavicle at the thoracic outlet. * there is incomplete expansion of an appropriately sized angioplasty balloon to its expected profile, in the operator's judgment, during primary angioplasty at the target lesion prior to randomization.

Keywords: esrd stenosis restenosis hemodialysis av fistula arteriovenous (av)