Evaluation of arterial structure and function in pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis and after renal transplantation.

CVD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients with CKD. It is unclear whether vascular abnormalities in these patients are reversible, and if transplantation portends salutary effects on arterial function. We compared FMD, PWV, AI75, and CIMT in 15 dialysis (D), 14 transplant patients (T), and 15 controls (C), and their associations with cardiovascular risk factors. There was stepwise lower FMD (p < 0.001), higher AI75 (p < 0.001), higher PWV (p = 0.01), and higher CIMT SDS for age (p = 0.03) and height (p = 0.006) in the D group than T and C groups. FMD, PWV, and CIMT were unrelated to dialysis duration or time from transplantation. On multivariate analysis, group status was independently associated with FMD (β = 3.15, p = 0.002), AI75 (β = -5.95, p = 0.01), PWV (β = -0.57, p = 0.07) and CIMT (β = -0.02, p = 0.04) and CIMT SDS for height (β = -0.541, p = 0.009). FMD is lower and AI75, PWV and CIMT are higher in pediatric patients maintained on D than T/C. T patients have similar AI75, PWV and CIMT to C although FMD remains reduced. These findings suggest that transplantation stabilizes or improves CKD associated arteriopathy.