WVU Charleston Surgeons Elliot Adams and Albeir Mousa Honored with “Most Viewed Article of 2020” by Journal of Vascular Surgery Cases

CHARLESTON W. Va., September 1, 2021 – Elliot Adams, MD and co-author Albeir Y. Mousa, MD, FACS, DFSVS, RPVI, MPH, MBA of the West Virginia University School of Medicine Charleston Campus have been recognized by the Journal of Vascular Surgery Cases, Innovations and Techniques, the official publication of the Society for Vascular Surgery, for their April 2020 article “Achieving a popliteal venous access for renal replacement therapy in critically ill COVID-19 patient in prone position.”

The article is being recognized by the officers of the Society and the Journal’s Editors with the “2020 Most Viewed Article Award.”

This report details the first case of a critically ill COVID-19 patient who could not be positioned supine and required access for urgent CRRT. This case report outlines a possible challenging scenario that the vascular interventionist may encounter in dealing with COVID-19 patients with respiratory compromise in the prone position.

The team achieved access through a 50-cm dialysis catheter placed in the left popliteal vein. To the vascular team’s knowledge, this technique has not been previously described in the vascular surgical literature. This unorthodox choice of access was beneficial to both the patient and the staff members involved in his care. The patient ultimately recovered renal function and was discharged without the need for long-term dialysis access, proposing that the popliteal veins can and should be considered for access in all critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring prone positioning and RRT.

The article can be accessed via DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvscit.2020.04.003