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ARTERIAL CALCIFICATIONS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHRONIC PERITONEAL DIALYSIS: INCIDENCE, PROGRESSION AND REGRESSION

From the Departments of Radiology and Medicine (Division of Nephrology), Toronto Western Hospital, and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The authors graded radiologically detectable arterial calcification (A.C.) in 168 patients with end-stage renal disease treated with peritoneal dialysis; 41 of them had diabetes mellitus (DM). Comparison of DM and nondiabetic (ND) patients showed that during an average dialysis period of more than two years, the incidence of A.C. increased from 37% before dialysis to 45% at the last examination in the ND patients, and from 90% to 100% in DM patients. Both prevalence and progression of A.C. were significantly higher in DM patients (P < 0.001 and <0.05 respectively). Regressions of A.C., unrelated to parathyroidectomy or renal transplantation, were observed in 5 ND and 4 DM patients. This 9% incidence of regressions should encourage further investigations to detect the factors responsible because severe A.C. sometimes is associated with gangrene and other complications.

KEY WORDS: Arterial calcification; Diabetics; Gangrene.

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