Preoperative Vascular Mapping With Doppler Ultrasound—A Standardized Protocol in Vascular Access for Hemodialysis

• Preoperative DU is recommended by international guidelines.

• Preoperative vascular mapping is of utmost importance for surgical planning.

• Standard protocols are needed to ensure reproducibility of methods and studies.

• We present our setting and describe in detail our standard protocol.

The role of Doppler ultrasound (DU) has become progressively established over the last 15 years as a complement to preoperative assessment of vascular access. However, the literature is scarce regarding DU protocol and standardization. In this paper we describe our protocol for systematic upper limb vascular mapping with DU for preoperative assessment in vascular access for hemodialysis: setup and patient positioning; anatomic and hemodynamic parameters to assess; sequence and technique of assessment; and standardized report in a multidisciplinary scenario for surgical decision.