MO748CORONARY ARTERY CALCIUM SCORE IN ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS RECEIVING CHRONIC HAEMODIALYSIS

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims Vascular calcification has been reported to be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with end-stage renal disease. Even in previously asymptomatic patients, early years of haemodialysis (HD) are associated with high CV morbidity and mortality rates. Thus, it is important to precisely and timely identify individuals at risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) who would benefit from further CV treatment. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is an accurate tool for noninvasive assessment of CAD. This study aimed to evaluate CACS in asymptomatic HD patients in early years of treatment. Method This multicentric observational study included 60 patients receiving chronic HD for less than 4 years, with neither signs nor symptoms of CV disease. All patients underwent multislice computed tomography to identify coronary artery calcifications according to the standard procedure. CACS was calculated by the Agatston method individually for the left main, left circumflex, left anterior descending, and right coronary arteries and then summed to calculate the total CACS for each patient. Patients were distributed based on CACS: group 1 with CACS = 0, group 2 with CACS ranging from 1 to 400, and group 3 with CACS > 400. Results Nine patients (89% men) had CACS = 0, 34 (47% men) had CACS 1-400, and 17 (76.5% men) had CACS > 400 (χ2 = 7.467; p = 0.024). The mean age was 51±7, 61±12 and 64±8 years in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p = 0.016). Patients in group 1 were significantly younger than patients in group 2 (p = 0.046) and group 3 (p = 0.012). The highest percentage of men was observed in group 1 (x2 = 7,668; p = 0.022). Other investigated demographic characteristics (dialysis vintage, body mass index, smoking history, family CV history, systolic and diastolic blood pressure), comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, hyperparathyroidism, hyperlipidemia) and therapy (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, statins, vitamin D, CaCO3, dialysate-magnesium concentration) did not differ significantly between the investigated groups. CACS showed statistically significant negative correlation with the serum iron (σ = - 0.351; p = 0.007), while other laboratory parameters (including calcium phosphate product) did not show statistically significant correlations. Conclusion Older age and low serum iron are associated with higher CACS in asymptomatic patients in the early years of HD. Therefore, these patients should be closely monitored for the early signs of CV disease.