Abdominal aortic calcification is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in peritoneal dialysis patients

Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is reported as a predictor for cardiovascular events in general population and in hemodialysis patients. At present, there are no AAC data in peritoneal dialysis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of AAC score on cardiovascular events in peritoneal dialysis patients. Seventy-four peritoneal dialysis patients were enrolled. AAC was measured on baseline lateral abdomen radiographs by the semi-quantitative method as described by Kauppila. The other cardiovascular risk factors were obtained from patient history and blood examination. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate freedom from cardiovascular events, and differences were assessed with the log-rank statistic. Multivariate Cox regression models addressed time to cardiovascular events. The median period of follow-up was 30.5months (IQR 19.4-32.7). During follow-up, there were 29 cardiovascular events (39.2%). In univariable analysis, patient's age (HR=1.050; P=0.001), urine output (HR=0.999; P=0.02), and AAC stratified by tertiles (overall P-value<0.001) were significantly associated with cardiovascular events. In multivariable regression analysis, AAC score stratified by tertiles was the only independent predictor for cardiovascular events (overall P-value<0.001). To our knowledge, we have shown for the first time that AAC score is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in peritoneal dialysis patients. Risk stratification by assessment of AAC score may provide important information for the management of cardiovascular disease in peritoneal dialysis patients without any additional expense, because these patients have several abdominal X-ray scans to evaluate the catheter position.