Tapered and non-tapered prosthetic grafts in upper extremity dialysis access: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The risk of ischemic steal syndrome and patency rate are comparable for upper extremity tapered and non-tapered AVGs. This meta-analysis does not support the routine use of tapered graft over non-tapered graft to prevent ischemic steal syndrome in upper extremity dialysis access. However, due to small number of studies and sample sizes as well as limited stratification of outcomes based on risk factors, future studies should take such limitations into account while designing more robust protocols to elucidate this issue.