title: QT dispersion predicts mortality and correlates with both coronary artery calcification and atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  QT dispersion (QTd) was shown to be an independent predictor of mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. It may be hypothesized that coronary artery calcification is related to QTd in HD patients because widespread calcification may also involve the cardiac conducting system in these patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationships of corrected QTd (QTcd) with coronary artery calcification score (CACS), carotid plaque score (CPS) and possible influence of these parameters on survival of HD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-two HD patients (33 male, 39 female) were enrolled into the study. Mean age of the patients was 44 ± 12 years. Mean follow-up duration was 77 ± 24 months. CACS was determined by computed tomography. QTcd values were calculated as the difference of maximum and minimum QT intervals. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and CPS were measured by echocardiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  QTcd was significantly correlated with CACS (r = 0.233, p = 0.049), CPS (r = 0.354, p = 0.003) and LVMI (p = 0.011, r = 0.299). CPS was found to be significantly higher in the group with high QTcd (>60 ms) [2 (1-4) versus 0 (0-1), p = 0.02]. CACS was significantly correlated with age (r = 0.44, p < 0.001), LVMI (r = 0.52, p < 0.001) and CPS (r = 0.32, p = 0.003). In Kaplan-Meier analysis, survival of patients with high QTcd was significantly lower than the patients with low QTcd. In Cox regression analysis for predicting mortality, age, serum albumin and QTcd were found to be the independent predictors of mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QTcd independently predicted mortality, and it was significantly associated with coronary artery calcification, left ventricular hypertrophy and atherosclerosis in HD patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul School of Medicine, Istanbul University, Fatih, 34093, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guney
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozkok
authors.forename: Yasar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Caliskan
authors.forename: Hamdi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pusuroglu
authors.forename: Halil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yazici
authors.forename: Savas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tepe
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oflaz
authors.forename: Alaattin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yildiz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology*
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