Relationship between carotid artery intima-media thickness and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation in peritoneal dialysis patients

Background and aim   Carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation percentage (FMD%) are two commonly used parameters for detecting subclinical atherosclerosis. However, studies investigating the relationship between CIMT and brachial artery FMD% in different populations have produced conflicting results. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between CIMT and brachial artery FMD% in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) Methods   Fifty-two PD patients without known cardiovascular disease and 30 age-gender matched controls were included in the study. Endothelial function was determined using ultrasonography (US) to measure the FMD of the brachial artery, and this parameter was expressed as the percentage change from the baseline diameter of the brachial artery (FMD%). We also measured CIMT by US and analysed the relationship between CIMT and brachial FMD%. Results   The CIMT was significantly higher in patients than in the control group (0.84 ± 0.08 vs. 0.75 ± 0.06 mm, P < 0.01), whereas brachial artery FMD% was lower in patients than in the controls (8.2 ± 5.0 vs. 11.7 ± 5.5%, P < 0.01). There was no significant correlation between CIMT and FMD% (r = −0.004, P = 0.94). Conclusion  Although PD patients are known to be characterized by an impaired flow-mediated vasodilatation of brachial artery and increased in CIMT, we did not find a significant correlation between FMD% and CIMT in our PD patient cohort. One possible explanation for our results is that each method measures a different aspect and stage of atherosclerosis.