Predictors of left ventricular hypertrophy and their cutoffs in peritoneal dialysis patients

Cardiovascular complications are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a major predictor of the development of cardiovascular events. This study aimed to identify risk factors that contribute to the development of LVH and to determine their cutoffs in patients on mainte-nance peritoneal dialysis. In this cross sectional study we evaluated the association of 23 variables including age, PD vintage, ultrafiltration, urine volume, residual renal function, mean daily SBP, mean daily DBP, fasting glucose, HbA1c, peritoneal glucose load index (PGLI), fluid overload (FO), plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), plasma hsCRP and IL-6, serum albumin, white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, triglycerides, LDL-C (low density lipoprotein cholesterol), HDL-C (high density lipoprotein cholesterol), and PTH with LVH in 38 stable patients on maintenance PD ≥ 24 months. LVH was detected in 57.9% of patients. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis revealed that HbA1c, PGLI, FO, plasma BNP, hsCRP and IL-6 seem to be possible predictors of LVH. The cutoffs asso-ciated with the presence of LVH were: 7.5%, 3.2 g/kg/day, 1.7 L, 330 pg/mL, 7.5 mg/dL and 3.3 pg/mL for HbA1c, PGLI, FO, plasma BNP, hsCRP and IL-6, respectively (sensitivity 72.8 to 81.8% and specificity 75.0 to 93.8%). The results suggest that efforts should be made to reduce the peritoneal glucose load (PGL), to improve the hydra-tion status, and to attenuate the inflammatory process in order to reduce the risk of the development of LVH among PD patients.