The annual award is supported by The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Foundation and acknowledges the essential, best-in-class research that is conducted in interventional radiology. The study led by Belinda Mohr, Ph.D., Lead Health Economist at Gore, along with co-authors Dr. John E. Aruny, The Dialysis Access Institute in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and Dr. Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, University of North Carolina Medical Center, was chosen by the editor-in-chief from all manuscripts published by JVIR in 2019. The award was announced April 28, 2020.

The REVISE study compared reinterventions and associated costs to maintain arteriovenous graft hemodialysis access circuits after rescue with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), with or without concurrent GORE® VIABAHN® Endoprosthesis with Heparin Bioactive Surface* stent grafts. The resulting paper, “Clinical and Economic Benefits of Stent Grafts in Dysfunctional and Thrombosed Hemodialysis Access Graft Circuits in the REVISE Randomized Trial,” found that the use of stent grafts significantly reduced the number of reinterventions for all patients over a 24-month period, driven by outcomes seen in patients presenting with thrombosed grafts.¹

It also found that stent grafts reduced overall treatment costs for patients presenting with thrombosed grafts and had similar costs for stenotic grafts, compared to PTA.¹

“We were impressed with the approach the team took to examine the Gore REVISE Clinical Study data in a way that offers actionable intelligence to improve patient quality of life by reducing interventions, while simultaneously reducing treatment costs,” said Ziv Haskal, editor-in-chief of JVIR during 2019 and founder of their annual awards. “Such attentive analysis provides physicians the insights we need to improve patient outcomes and value, and the award is well deserved.”

The paper found that in thrombosed grafts, when compared to the PTA arm, use of the GORE^® VIABAHN^®Device reduced the number of reinterventions by 40 percent (3.7 stent graft versus 6.2 PTA; P = .022) and reduced reintervention costs in thrombosed circuits by 38 percent over 24 months ($19,322 versus $31,265; P < .001).¹ In dysfunctional grafts, no statistical difference was observed in the number of reinterventions or total costs (3.7 stent graft versus 4.4 PTA;   P = .12, and $25,421 stent graft and $22,610 PTA; P = .14).¹ Further details are available in the article here.

“Dialysis circuits are these patients’ lifeline.” Mohr said, “These findings will help physicians choose the most cost-effective treatment to maintain these lifelines and enhance the overall quality of care provided to patients who are dependent on hemodialysis. Reducing the need for the patient to come back for interventions creates value and improves patients’ lives.”