| Study | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
| Albert 1978 | Study compares acetylsalicylic acid with sulphinpyrazone, no placebo group included so did not meet inclusion criteria |
| Alexopoulos 2011 | No data on patency rates or secondary outcomes published |
| Bhomi 2008 | Not a placebo‐controlled trial |
| Chen 2013 | This is a comparison of two different treatments versus no treatment, and no placebo was used for the trial. Therefore, did not meet inclusion criteria |
| D'Ayala 2008 | Not a placebo‐controlled trial |
| De Fijter 1995 | No data published on patency rates or secondary outcomes. The study mixed participants on haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis |
| Dixon 2009 | Dipyridamole + aspirin combination was the treatment arm versus placebo; however if the participants were taking aspirin prior to the study initiation this was not stopped. Therefore, no true placebo was used for all participants |
| Dulude 2001 | Only abstract available; not enough information presented to allow adequate data extraction of primary or secondary outcomes |
| Fuster 2001 | Not a placebo‐controlled trial. The paper described the rationale and design of an ongoing study. No results have been published |
| Janicki 2003 | It was not a randomised trial as there is no mention of any randomisation process. There is no data on date of the study, thus the control group could have been a historical group. There is no information on how patency or thrombosis was assessed |
| Kaegi 1975 | Some participants were on warfarin at the start of the study. Other participants were started on this drug during the trial |
| Kaufman 2003 | Not able to elicit absolute number of thrombotic episodes from results, as only a table of cumulative incidence, hazard ratios and risk reduction figures. The average age of the dialysis access was 565 days (placebo) and 587 days (treatment) |
| Kooistra 1994 | Long‐standing (> 6 weeks old) AV fistulae assessed, and concurrent initiation of recombinant human erythropoietin with antiplatelet agent was studied, so was a confounding factor |
| Krasinski 2004 | Abstract only available: not able to elicit absolute numbers of thrombotic episodes from results or secondary outcomes |
| Lee 2009 | This randomised trial looked at the effect of different routes of administration of the study drug. It did not therefore include a true placebo |
| Lin 2007 | Not placebo controlled. Study undertaken on AV fistulae which had been functional for at least 3 months |
| Lin 2013 | Not placebo controlled. Study undertaken on AV fistulae which had been functional for at least 6 months |
| Malovrh 2009 | Not placebo controlled. Not truly randomised (groups based on vessel quality, and if fistula was non‐functional at the end of surgery) |
| Mileti 1995 | The paper described the rationale and design of an ongoing study. No results have been published |
| Radmilovic 1998 | The trial looked at external fistulae, a technique now not practised and numbers of thrombotic episodes could not be elicited from the results |
| Rouzrokh 2009 | Unclear results with the time frame of assessment of patency not clear |
| Taber 1992 | Abstract only available: no data published on patency rates or secondary outcomes |
| Trimarchi 2006 | This is a comparison of treatment versus no treatment, and no placebo was used for trial. Therefore, excluded from review. *Note: this study was mistakenly included in previous versions of this review |
| Wang 2010 | Not a placebo‐controlled trial |
| Wasse 2014 | Patency defined as AVF or AVG being successfully used at six months, therefore no data provided on actual thrombotic events as other factors could have precluded the AVF or AVG use |
| Yuto 2012 | Not a placebo‐controlled trial |
AV: arteriovenous AVF: arteriovenous fistula AVG: arteriovenous graft