Cardiovascular calcification in hemodialysis patients: A Qatar-based prevalence and risk factors study

BACKGROUND

Patients with end-stage kidney disease on hemodialysis (HD) have an increased risk of death due to the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease. Vascular calcification (VC) is predictive of cardiovascular disease and mortality. We conducted a study to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for VC in dialysis patients in Qatar.

METHODS

This is a retrospective nationwide study including all chronic ambulatory dialysis patients in Qatar from 2020 to 2022. We used our national electronic medical record to track demographics, clinical characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory values, and diagnostic data for each patient. Calcifications were assessed by echocardiography (routinely done for all our dialysis population per national protocol), computed tomography, X-ray, and ultrasound. The study protocol was approved by the local medical research ethics committee (MRC-01-20-377).

RESULTS

842 HD patients were included in this study. Vascular calcifications (VC) were prevalent in 52.6% of patients. The main site of VC was Mitral valve calcifications in 55.5% of patients. Patients with VC were significantly older and had more prevalence of diabetes mellitus (p = 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between patients with calcifications and patients without calcifications regarding serum calcium, phosphorus, and PTH level. In multivariate analysis, age and diabetes significantly increased the risk factor for calcification (95% CI 1.033-1.065, p < 0.0001, and 95% CI 1.128-2.272, p < 0001, respectively). Moreover, higher vitamin D levels and higher doses of IV Alfacalcidol were significant risk factors for calcifications (95% CI 1.005-1.030, p < 0.007, and 95% CI 1.092-1.270, p < 0.0001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Our study found that vascular calcification was widespread among our dialysis population in Qatar. Implementing the practice of echocardiography in dialysis patients was extremely helpful and the most productive in detecting vascular calcification. Diabetes mellitus almost doubles the risk for vascular calcifications in dialysis patients. These results are beneficial in identifying risk factors for vascular calcification, which can help stratify dialysis patients' risk of cardiovascular disease and optimize prevention efforts.

MO537: Effects of COVID-19 on Mineral and Bone Disease Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients: A Retrospective Study From Qatar

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Management of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis has been challenging during the COVID19 epidemic. Staff illness led to a shortage of manpower that affected patient care. We established a specialty nursing management for mineral and bone disease (MBD) in the ambulatory dialysis service in Qatar in 2016. We are presenting a retrospective study about the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on MBD outcomes in ambulatory dialysis patients in the State of Qatar.

METHOD

A retrospective cohort study in all adult patients with ESRD on chronic hemodialysis therapy (>1 month) in ambulatory dialysis clinics in the State of Qatar. Data collected were patient's characteristics, laboratory and diagnostic investigations for each patient through our electronic data system (nationwide). We focused on parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium and phosphorus levels done routinely on monthly basis. The study duration was 31 months (January 2019–September 2021).

RESULTS

We included 623 patients. Age was 56 ± 11 years old and 61% were male. The main comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (63%), hypertension (92%) and cardiovascular disease (22%). The percentage of patients with PTH levels within targets ranged from 63 to 74%. It was stable before and during the first wave of COVID-19 in Qatar (March–June 2020) then dropped afterward briefly for 3 months (October–December 2020) (74% versus 63% respectively P = 0.0003). PTH level in target improved afterward and also during the second wave of COVID-19 (February–May 2021) but then dropped again for 3 months (July–September 2021) [72% versus 66% respectively P = 0.02 (graph below with details)]. Patients with phosphorus and calcium in the target were mostly stable [79% (77–83%) and 76% (74–79%), respectively].

CONCLUSION

Our retrospective study regarding the effect of the COVID-19 epidemic on MBD outcomes in hemodialysis (HD) showed a temporary drop in PTH level in the target without affecting calcium and phosphorus targets. The delayed drop after COVID-19 waves in PTH in target could be related to the routine quarterly measurement of PTH. We think that establishing a solid management system for MBD led to reasonably stable outcomes despite all challenges during the COVID-19 epidemic.

MO851: Impact of COVID-19 on Dialysis Patients: Reported Experience in Qatar

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Patient-centred care is a concept focussing on meeting the specific health needs of patients as expressed by them. There is increasing evidence to show that patient centred care can help to achieve higher rates of patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes and overall better experience, particularly for patients with chronic disease. Patients Reported Experience Measures (PREM) is another concept associated with patient-cantered care. PREM surveys capture information about the healthcare experience as perceived by patients. Its importance lies in the incorporation of patient feedback into the clinical decisions and service evolution. Dialysis patients play an important role in their treatment and their voice matters to provide proper care. PREM was first conducted in 2019 in our dialysis unit including 200 patients. In 2020, COVID-19 impacted the dialysis services and resulted in many challenges including staff shortage and deployment.

METHOD

We used a validated questionnaire from the National Health Service in United Kingedm. It consisted of 7 questions covering demographics, dialysis options, patient portal, patient's relationship with the staff, teamwork and travelling abroad. The survey involved 317 randomly selected patients who have been at least 1 year on dialysis. We performed a comparison of the 2019 and 2020 results using Chi-squared test.

RESULTS

257 patients on hemodialysis and 60 on peritoneal dialysis participated in the survey. Majority of the surveyed patients (65%) were on dialysis from 1–5 years and 32% with more than 5 years’ survival on dialysis. Sixty five % of patients responded that they were on follow up in nephrology or low clearance clinic before starting dialysis. Access to dialysis team, nurses and doctors from home declined in 2020 due to the shortage of staff in the dialysis services and deployment of many staff to COVID-19 facilities, 62% of surveyed patients were able to contact their care givers from home compared with 87% in 2019 (P &lt; 0.0001). Regarding education, 78% of the patients responded that they received education before starting dialysis and it was in an understandable manner while patients' response to the same question was 85% in 2019 (P = 0.047). 44% received education on side effects, which is remarkably less compared with 74% in 2019 (P = 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Patient reported experience helps in the evaluation of health services. Exploring patient experience in dialysis patients in Qatar, we found negative impact of COVID-19 from patients’ perspectives. Our PREM survey showed significant decline in many parameters likely attributed to COVID-19 consequences including the shortage of staff.