Anti-cardiolipin, anti-endothelial-cell and anti-malondialdehyde-LDL antibodies in uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis: relationship with vascular access thrombosis and thromboembolic events.

Patients with chronic renal failure requiring regular hemodialysis are known to be prone to thromboembolic events due to a hypercoagulable state. Vascular access thrombosis (VAT; including thrombosis of the vascular shunt or graft) represents a serious complication and jeopardizes life in these patients. In the current study, conducted on 81 consecutive patients from the Hemodialysis Unit, we have employed ELISA for the estimation of various autoantibody levels (anti-endothelial cell antibodies, anti-cardiolipin, anti-beta 2GPI and anti-modified LDL antibodies) and correlated them with the occurrence of thromboembolic events in general, and VAT in particular.