Fluid status, blood pressure, and cardiovascular abnormalities in patients on peritoneal dialysis

Hypertension, reduced arterial distensibility, and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) are risk factors for mortality in hemodialysis patients. However, few studies have focused on the relation between fluid status, blood pressure (BP), and cardiovascular abnormalities in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. This study was designed, first, to assess, using tracer dilution techniques, fluid status in PD patients compared to a control population of stable renal transplant (RTx) patients; second, to study the relation between fluid status, BP, and arterial wall abnormalities; third, to assess the determinants of cardiac structure; and last, to compare office and ambulatory BP measurements with respect to cardiac abnormalities.

Cross-sectional study.

Multicenter study.

41 stable PD patients with a mean Kt/V urea of 2.4 +/- 0.7, and 77 stable RTx patients.

Fluid status was assessed by tracer dilution techniques: extracellular volume (ECV) with bromide dilution; total body water (TBW) with deuterium oxide; and plasma volume (PV) with dextran 70. Echocardiography was performed to assess left ventricular mass (LVM), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and relative wall thickness as indicators of LVH. Echography of the common carotid artery was performed to assess arterial distensibility. Both office and 24-hour ambulatory BP measurements were performed.

Fluid status, as assessed by ECV corrected for body surface area (BSA) (ECV:BSA), was significantly different between PD and RTx patients (9.4 +/- 2.6 vs 8.6 +/- 1.2 L/m2, p < 0.05). In 36.6% of the PD patients, ECV:BSA was above the 90th percentile of the RTx patients. Fluid status corrected for BSA, assessed by TBW (TBW:BSA), ECV (ECV:BSA), or plasma volume (PV:BSA), was significantly related to diastolic BP (DBP) (r = 0.35, r = 0.37, r = 0.53; p < 0.05). Arterial distensibility of the common carotid artery was related to systolic BP (SBP) (r = -0.36, p < 0.05). ECV was significantly related to LVEDD (r = 0.41, p < 0.05) as a marker of eccentric LVH, whereas arterial distensibility was related to relative wall thickness (r = -0.53, p < 0.001) as a marker of concentric LVH. An abnormal day-night BP rhythm, which was not related to fluid status, was observed in 68.4% of patients. Ambulatory DBP and SBP but not office DBP and SBP were related to LVM (r = 0.43, r = 0.46; p < 0.01).

A large proportion of PD patients whose treatment prescriptions are in accordance with the Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines were found to be overhydrated compared with a population of stable RTx patients. Fluid status was significantly related to DBP and eccentric LVH, whereas arterial distensibility of the common carotid artery was significantly related to SBP and concentric LVH. In contrast to ambulatory BP, office BP was not related to LVM.