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Kidney Week

Abstract: FR-PO855

Changes in QT Interval in Long-Term Hemodialysis Patients

Session Information

Category: Dialysis

  • 606 Dialysis: Epidemiology, Outcomes, Clinical Trials - Cardiovascular

Authors

  • Matsumoto, Yoshihiro, Shizuoka City Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan
  • Mori, Yasuo, Shibukawa Clinic, Shizuoka, Japan
  • Kageyama, Shinji, Kageyama Urological Clinic, Shziuoka city, Japan
  • Arihara, Kazuo, Ohtemachi Clinic, Shizuoka, Japan
  • Sato, Hidemaro, Sawada Hospital, GIFU, Japan
  • Nagata, Kijun, Sawada Hospital, GIFU, Japan
  • Shimada, Yasushi, Shizuoka City Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan
  • Nojima, Youichi, Shizuoka City Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan
  • Iguchi, Koichiro, Shizuoka City Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan
  • Toshikazu, Sugiyama, Sugiyama Clinic, Shizuoka, Japan
Background

Cardiovascular diseases, including sudden cardiac death (SCD), are the leading cause of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients. A prolonged QT interval on the electrocardiogram (ECG) is a risk factor for SCD in HD patients as well as in the general population. This study sought to investigate whether the heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval increases with dialysis vintage.

Methods

A total of 102 patients from 7 outpatient HD clinics were retrospectively studied. They had been undergoing HD for more than 7 years, and had ECG data at 1, 4, and 7 years after HD initiation. The control group comprised 68 age-matched individuals without chronic kidney disease who had two available ECG reports at an interval of more than 4 years. Patients with ECGs showing heart rates of <57 or >103, extrasystoles, or any rhythm other than sinus were excluded. QTc was measured according to the Bazett formula. The association between a prolonged QTc interval and dialysis vintage was estimated using Dunnett’s multiple comparison test.

Results

Average QTc intervals at 1, 4, and 7 years after HD treatment were 437, 443, and 445 ms, respectively. Those at 4 and 7 years after HD treatment were longer than those at 1 year after HD treatment; the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). On the other hand, QTc intervals in the control group were 392 in the first year and 394 ms after an average of 6 years, which were much shorter than those in our HD patients and did not show an increase during the 6 years.

Conclusion

The QTc interval at 1 year after HD initiation was longer than in control subjects and increased over several years of HD treatment. Larger-scale studies are recommended to evaluate the association between SCD and QTc prolongation in HD patients.