Evaluation and Prediction of Cardio- Cerebrovascular Disease in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients on Hemodialysis Using Carotid Doppler Scan

The global prevalence of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) was more than 10 million, with an associatedastronomical increase in morbidity and mortality of about 41.5%. The major reasons for fatality are usually due to carotidvessel diseases leading to stroke and ischemic heart diseases, accounting for a prevalence of about 15.1%. This study aims toevaluate the changes in carotid diameter (CD), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and the presence of plaque using anoninvasive method like Doppler ultrasound in predicting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease outcomes to aid earlyinterventions. Methods: One hundred and thirty-four patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), who were on dialysis fordifferent durations, were consecutively recruited for the research. Details of the lipid profile, blood glucose, smoking, alcoholconsumption, body mass index (BMI), and duration on dialysis were documented. A skilled radiologist used Doppler ultrasoundto determine the CD, CIMT, and presence of plaque. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(IBM SPSS), version 23. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses. Results: The cumulativeprevalence of carotid artery diseases was 44.8%. The prevalence of patients with CD and abnormal CIMT was 41.8% and 6.7%,respectively. There was a positive correlation between CIMT and duration of dialysis (r = 0.174, p = 0.045), but it was inverse forCD (r = –0.145, p = 0.094). Alcohol, smoking, and the etiology of CKD have no significant association with carotid vessel disease.Conclusion: We conclude that carotid artery disease is highly prevalent among ESRD patients, and it is therefore imperativeto identify these risks early and treat them to prevent fatal cerebrovascular and cardiovascular outcomes.