Sevelamer versus calcium carbonate in incident hemodialysis patients: results of an open-label 24-month randomized clinical trial.

Background: Whether the use of sevelamer rather than a calcium-containing phosphate binder improves cardiovascular (CV) survival in patients receiving dialysis remains to be elucidated.

Study Design: Open-label randomized controlled trial with parallel groups.

Settings & Participants: 466 incident hemodialysis patients recruited from 18 centers in Italy.

Coronary artery calcification progression is associated with arterial stiffness and cardiac repolarization deterioration in hemodialysis patients.

Background/aims: Evidence suggests that vascular calcification (VC) portends poor cardiovascular (CV) prognosis in patients undergoing maintenance dialysis (CKD-5). Nonetheless, how VC might predispose to CV mortality still remains to be clarified. Herein, we report on the association between coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression and changes in cardiac repolarization as well as arterial stiffness.

Reproducibility of regional pulse-wave velocity in uremic subjects.

Despite the clinical importance of pulse-wave velocity (PWV), there are no standards for accurate carotid-radial pulse-wave measurement in uremic patients with respect to carotid-femoral measurement. We assessed the reproducibility of PWV values using the carotid-radial PWV measurement. We have measured the carotid-femoral PWV and carotid-radial PWV with an automated system (Pulse Pen, DiaTecne) using 2 different blind operators in 105 hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Lanthanum carbonate is not associated with QT interval modification in hemodialysis patients.

Unlabelled: Lanthanum carbonate is an efficacious noncalcium, nonresin phosphate-binder that is being increasingly used in chronic kidney disease stage 5 (CKD-5) dialysis patients. Available evidence has indicated that QT interval changes correlate with mortality in healthy subjects and in dialysis patients. Experimental studies have suggested the possibility that lanthanum carbonate may produce prolongation of the QT interval.

Influence of haemodialysis on variability of pulse wave velocity in chronic haemodialysis patients.

Background: The major determinants of pulse wave velocity (PWV) in haemodialysis (HD) patients are not fully known. We studied chronic HD patients to assess the effect of cyclic variations in both hydration status and blood pressure on PWV.

Methods: Twenty patients were examined along three consecutive HD sessions and interdialysis periods during a week-long period.