Aims
To assess the relation of high serum OPG level and carotid atherosclerosis in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients using low-flux reused dialyzer. Materials and
Conclusions
In this study, serum OPG had a good predicting value for atherosclerosis in MHD patients using low-flux reused dialyzer.
Methods
We examined 209 MHD patients with and without carotid atherosclerosis (83 patients and 126 patients) to establish the relation between OPG and atherosclerosis.
Results
The proportion of carotid atherosclerosis was 39.7%. The median serum OPG level was 45.3 pmol/L. Serum OPG had a good predicting value for atherosclerosis in MHD patients using low-flux reused dialyzer (AUC = 0.934, p < 0.001, cutoff value = 43.35 pmol/L, Se = 81.3%, Sp = 90.9%). Conclusions: In this study, serum OPG had a good predicting value for atherosclerosis in MHD patients using low-flux reused dialyzer.