INTRODUCTION An echocardiographic calcium score (ECS) predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. Its utility in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is unknown. METHODS This cross-sectional study assessed 125 patients… Click to show full abstract
INTRODUCTION An echocardiographic calcium score (ECS) predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. Its utility in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is unknown. METHODS This cross-sectional study assessed 125 patients on PD. The ECS (range 0-8) was compared between subjects with CVD and those without. RESULTS Among the subjects, 54 had CVD and 71 did not. Subjects with CVD were older (69 years vs. 56 years, p < 0.001) and had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) (81.5% vs. 45.1%, p < 0.001). They had lower diastolic blood pressure (72 mmHg vs. 81 mmHg, p < 0.001), lower phosphate (1.6 mmol/L vs. 1.9 mmol/L, p = 0.002), albumin (30 g/L vs. 32 g/L, p = 0.001), parathyroid hormone (34.4 pmol/L vs. 55.8 pmol/L, p = 0.002), total cholesterol (4.5 vs. 4.9, p = 0.047), LDL cholesterol (2.4 mmol/L vs. 2.8 mmol/L, p = 0.019) and HDL cholesterol (0.8 mmol/L vs. 1.1 mmol/L, p = 0.002). The ECS was found to be higher in subjects with CVD than in those without (2 vs. 1, p = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, only DM and age were independently associated with CVD. CONCLUSION The ECS was significantly higher in PD patients with CVD than in those without, reflecting a higher vascular calcification burden in the former. It is a potentially useful tool to quantify vascular calcification in PD patients.
               
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