Original Article Abdominal aortic calcification in dialysis patients: results

Background. Patients with chronic kidney disease stage 5 have a high prevalence of vascular calcification, but the specific anatomical distribution and severity of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), in contrast to coronary calci-fication, is less well documented. AAC may be recorded using plain radiographs. The present report is an analysis of baseline data on AAC in patients enrolled in the CORD (Calcification Outcome in Renal Disease) study. Methods. A total of 47 centres in six European countries participated in this cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years and duration of dialysis ≥3 months. Lateral lumbar radiography of the abdominal aorta was used to determine the overall AAC score, which is related to the severity of calcific deposits at lumbar vertebral segment