Aitken E, Kearns R, Gaianu L, et al. - Researchers aimed at ascertaining the effects of regional vs local anesthesia on longer-term arteriovenous fistula (AVF) patency via conducting an observer-blinded randomized controlled trial at three university hospitals in Glasgow, United Kingdom. One hundred and twenty-six patients undergoing primary radiocephalic or brachiocephalic AVF creation were randomly assigned to receive regional anesthesia (brachial plexus block; 0.5% L-bupivacaine and 1.5% lidocaine with epinephrine) or local anesthesia (0.5% L-bupivacaine and 1% lidocaine). Outcomes revealed significantly improved both primary and functional AVF patency at 1 year in correlation with regional anesthesia vs local anesthesia. Further, regional anesthesia led to net savings of £195.10 (US$237.36) per patient at 1 year, and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of nearly £12,900 (US$15,694.20) per quality-adjusted life years over a 5-year time horizon.