Heparin-Bonded Polytetrafluoroethylene Arteriovenous Grafts Are Not Worth the Cost: A Bayesian Perspective on Comparative Effectiveness

Heparin-bonded (HB) polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts were marketed to improve hemodialysis access outcomes, but they are twice the cost of standard-PTFE. We launched a randomized trial of HB-PTFE vs standard-PTFE for hemodialysis access. Since the trial began, additional studies were published, with heterogeneous findings. We performed an interim analysis by Bayesian methods using prior probability from meta-analysis of existing...