Hippokratia 2012; 16(2):137-142
E. Dervisoglu, G. Kozdag, N. Etiler, B. Kalender
Abstract
Background: Although left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with end stage renal disease, few have examined its prevalence before the initiation of dialysis. !e aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between LVH, estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and inflammatory markers in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Methods: Forty-one CKD patients (18 women, 23 men, mean age 53±17 years) with an estimated GFR between 15 and 59mL/min (mean 34.2 mL/min) were enrolled and the following tests performed: routine serum biochemical analyses, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibrinogen, ferritin, and homocysteine, and left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS).
Results: LVH was diagnosed in 32/41 patients (78%). CKD patients with LVH (n=32) had signicantly higher hs-CRP (p=0.012), fibrinogen (p=0.031), and lower serum albumin (p=0.028) levels than those without LVH (n=9). In all patients, LVMI correlated positively with hs-CRP (r=0.483, p=0.002) and serum fibrinogen (r=0.426, p=0.015). Estimated GFR correlated positively with LVEF (r=0.414, p=0.007) and LVFS (r=0.376, p=0.018).
Conclusions: Important positive associations exist between markers of inflammation and LVMI in patients with CKD. In addition to hs-CRP, elevated fibrinogen may portend the development of LVH in patients with CKD who are not yet on dialysis.