Abstract
Background and Objective: Epidemiological and clinical studies have shown
that vascular calcification and arterial vascular stiffness are associated with
all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in the general populations and
end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The objective of this study was the
assessment of arterial stiffness and vascular calcification in ESRD patients in
Sohag University Hospital. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional de
scriptive study, 100 patients with ESRD (63 males and 37 females) were in
cluded. The patients were on regular hemodialysis (HD) for 65.18 ± 50.25
months. Arterial stiffness was measured by brachial pulse pressure (PP). A
simple vascular calcification score (SVCS) based on plain radiographic films
of pelvis and hands was used for assessment of vascular calcification. The pa
tients undergoing clinical evaluation and serum calcium, phosphorus and pa
rathyroid hormone (PTH) were obtained. Results: PP > 70 mmHg was ob
served in 24 patients (24%) and vascular calcifications were detected in 50 pa
tients (50%). SVCS ≥ 3 was observed in 36 patients (36%) and 10 patients
(10%) had both SVCS ≥ 3 and PP > 70 mmHg. PP > 70 was significantly asso
ciated with presence of vascular disease (odds ratio; 5, 95% CI = 1.56 - 16.01;
P = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, PP > 70 was independently associated
with elevated systolic blood pressure (odds ratio; 1.34, 95% CI = 1.11 - 1.6; P =
0.002) and serum PTH (odds ratio; 1.004, 95% CI = 1 - 1.008; P = 0.03).
SVCS ≥ 3 was association with age (odds ratio; 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02 - 1.09; P =
0.003) and presence of vascular disease (odds ratio; 3.19, 95% CI = 1.3 - 7.85;
P = 0.01). Elevated systolic blood pressure was independently associated with
SVCS ≥ 3 (odds ratio; 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03 - 1.14; P = 0.002). Conclusion: Ar
terial stiffness and vascular calcifications are common in patients with ESRD
on regular hemodialysis. PP and SVCS are simple and inexpensive methods in
assessment of vascular calcifications and arterial stiffness in hemodialysis pa