What it means
A tunnel that connects two places that are not normally joined. Some form on their own, from disease, injury, infection or surgery, such as a fistula between the bowel and the skin in Crohn diseasekrohn dih-ZEEZA long-term inflammatory bowel disease that can affect any part of the digestive tract, through the full thickness of its wall.Full entry . Others are made on purpose: an arteriovenous (AV) fistula joins an artery to a vein in the arm so it can be used for dialysisdy-AL-ih-sisA treatment that removes wastes and extra fluid from the blood when the kidneys can no longer do it.dia- through, apart-lysis separation, looseningFull entry .
For the nurse
For an AV fistula, feel for the buzz (thrill) and listen for the whooshing sound (bruit) each shift; loss of either can mean a clot and is reported. Take no blood pressures, blood draws or IVs in that arm, and teach the client not to wear tight sleeves or sleep on it.
In a chart
"Left forearm AV fistula with palpable thrill and audible bruit; 'no BP, no sticks' sign posted."
At a glance
| Abbreviations | AV fistula (arteriovenous fistula) |
|---|---|
| Spanish | fístula |
| Also written | fistulas, fistulae |
Related terms
chronic kidney disease
Kidney damage or reduced kidney function that lasts longer than three months.
dialysis
A treatment that removes wastes and extra fluid from the blood when the kidneys can no longer do it.
Crohn disease
A long-term inflammatory bowel disease that can affect any part of the digestive tract, through the full thickness of its wall.