218 consecutive patients were examined using Cox regression analysis to determine risk factors for failure. Primary patency was used as the endpoint.
Diabetes, IHD, Stroke, Two snuffbox procedures, Age聽>聽70 and Less than 2.0聽mm vein (DISTAL, maximum score 6) were significant predictors of primary patency failure. There was a clear decrease in primary patency with increasing DISTAL score (log rank 蠂2聽=聽30.3, DF聽=聽5, P聽<聽0.001). Performing snuffbox procedures on patients with a score 鈮? would give a 23%reduction in the number of failures within two months for a 12%reduction in the number of patients offered snuffbox procedures.
The DISTAL scoring system could give large improvements in primary patency for the snuffbox fistula if the results can be validated in other datasets.