Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with mortality in calcific uremic arteriolopathy

Calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA) is an often-fatal condition in dialysis patients. The clinical descriptions and treatments of CUA patients have been confined mostly to case reports. We report a comprehensive characterization of CUA and its associated diagnosis, treatment patterns, and outcome.

An internet-based registry collected information about CUA in dialysis patients. Univariate analysis using Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios of the association between clinical characteristics, laboratory values, and treatments with all-cause mortality.

A total of 117 CUA patients had adequate information for analysis. The majority of patients (56.7%) were diagnosed clinically, with only 32.5% biopsied. Debridement was undertaken in 42.6% of cases. Intravenous sodium thiosulfate (STS) was initiated in 54.7% of patients; most received ≥ 12.5 g of STS (98.3%) for < 3 months (79.7%). Mean parathyroid hormone (PTH) and phosphorus (P) were 459 ± 492 pg/mL and 6.3 ± 2.1 mg/dL, respectively. A total of 24 patients (21.6%, of 111 with information) died, with a median survival time of 2.9 months. In univariate analysis, higher mortality was observed in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD; HR = 10.47; 95% CI 1.40–78.38), those taking warfarin at time of diagnosis (HR = 2.74; 95% CI 1.16–6.51), and those who had both diabetes (DM) and CVD and who were taking warfarin (HR = 13.41; 95% CI 1.66–109.29).

In real-world clinical practice, there is substantial variability in the diagnosis and treatment of CUA. There is usually only modest derangement of bone and mineral parameters at the time of diagnosis. Death is common. The presence of CVD and use of warfarin may influence clinical outcome after diagnosis of CUA.