TITLE:
Prevalence of Carotid Atheromatous Plaques in Pre-Dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in South East, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Olaronke F. Afolabi, C. Uche Ibewuike, Chukwuemeka O. Eze, Monday U. Nwobodo, Ifeoma I. Ulasi
KEYWORDS:
Carotid Plaques, CKD, Predialysis, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases,
Vol.10 No.9,
September
17,
2020
ABSTRACT: Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have considerably high atherosclerotic changes which predict cardiovascular events; hence, this study evaluated the prevalence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques in pre-dialysis CKD patients at a tertiary institution in south-east, Nigeria. Materials and Method: 107 pre-dialysis CKD patients were consecutively recruited for the study. 81 subjects who were screened and had no kidney disease served as control. The control group was sex and age matched with the CKD patients. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to all participants and physical examination was done. Presence of atheromatous plaques was assessed using doppler ultrasound at 3 sites—distal common carotid artery (CCA), the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the carotid bulb by a single skilled radiologist specialized in doppler ultrasound. Results: Atheromatous plaques were significantly increased in CKD patients. 14.2% of CKD patients had atheromatous plaques versus 2.5% in the control group (p value Conclusions: Atheromatous plaques are prevalent in CKD patients. It is recommended that carotid doppler ultrasound should be done in CKD patients to identify patients for possible intervention.