Background: The dialysis patients have a lot of changes in cardiac structure and function detected by echocardiography and they have been recognized as key outcome predictors. However, the available data regarding echocardiographic alterations in Thai Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) patients is limited. This study aimed to determine the correlation between baseline clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of Thai CAPD patients.
Material and method: This study was a single center and cross-sectional observational study, which enrolled all CAPD outpatients (104 patients), treated at Srinakharinwirot Medical University between 1 September 2012 and 31 June, 2014. Their demographic and echocardiographic data were collected one time and the latest laboratory data to the patient's echocardiographic study date were analyzed.
Results: One hundred and four patients (50 men and 54 women) whose mean age was 59.4 ± 12.7 years and median duration of CAPD was 12 months were recruited. An extremely high prevalence of elevated left ventricular mass index (LVMI), 82.7% was found which mean LVMI was higher in male than female (166.2 ± 55.6 vs. 131 ± 47.6 g/m2). All patients had diastolic dysfunction and most ofthem had diastolic dysfunction grade I. The studyfactors of male gender, history of hypertension, high serum phosphate, low hemoglobin level, corrected QT interval, and duration of CAPD longer than 24 months can predict the variation of LVMI. Interestingly, the study found that a duration of CAPD of longer than 42 months might reduce right ventricular systolic pressure.
Conclusion: This study revealed a higher prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in Thai CAPD patients when compared with previous studies and anemia still be an important independentfactor for developing LVH. Longer period of CAPD may regress LVH and lower RVSP that should be proven by longer well-designed prospective studies.