Cardiovascular calcifications in pediatric patients receiving maintenance dialysis

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in adult patients with end-stage renal disease receiving maintenance dialysis. Coronary artery calcifications (CAC) contribute to the high prevalence of cardiac disease and are associated with hyperphosphatemia, an elevated calcium-phosphorus product (CaxP), and prolonged time on dialysis. Chronic inflammation and malnutrition are also associated with an increased risk for development of cardiac calcifications. Young adults receiving maintenance dialysis develop cardiac calcifications at a degree out of proportion to healthy adults of the same age and gender. Many of these young adults initiated dialysis as children or teenagers. Risk factors associated with the development of CAC are also seen in the pediatric dialysis population. To date, reports of cardiac calcifications in pediatric patients receiving maintenance dialysis are limited to post-mortem studies. We present two pediatric patients with ANCA-positive vasculitis diagnosed with cardiac calcifications while receiving maintenance dialysis. Hyperphosphatemia and an elevated CaxP product were seen in both patients and probably contributed to the development of extraskeletal calcifications. In addition, both patients had an underlying systemic inflammatory disease and significant weight loss/malnutrition that may have contributed to the early and rapid onset of cardiac calcifications.