High-resolution B-mode ultrasonography in evaluation of atherosclerosis in uremia

High-resolution B-mode ultrasonography in evaluation of atherosclerosis in uremia. We sought to determine whether atherosclerosis may be accelerated in uremic patients on maintenance hemodialysis and investigated the risk factors for carotid and femoral atherosclerosis in such patients. High-resolution B-mode ultrasonography was used to determine the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid and femoral arteries in 199 hemodialysis patients and 81 age-matched healthy control subjects. The IMT values of the carotid and femoral arteries in the hemodialysis patients were significantly higher than in age-matched control subjects in most age groups. The IMT values of the carotid or femoral artery were significantly correlated with age in both the hemodialysis patients and the control subjects. There was a significant relationship between the IMT values of the two arteries in the hemodialysis patients (r = 0.418, P=0.0001) and in the control subjects (r = 0.321, P=0.0037). Multiple regression analysis showed that age, cigarette smoking, and uremic state were independent risk factors for atherosclerosis of both arteries in the patients and the control subjects (R 2 = 0.174, P 2 = 0.205, P 2 = 0.180, P 2 = 0.230, P