Photo Credit: Jose Luis Calvo Martin & Jose Enrique Garcia-Maurino Muzquiz

The following is a summary of “Effect of short-term remote ischemic preconditioning on endothelial function of patients with chronic kidney disease: A randomized pilot study,” published in the March 2024 issue of Nephrology by Xu et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the safety and efficacy of remote ischemic preconditioning (rIPC) in improving endothelial function and reducing cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), who are particularly vulnerable to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CV).

They conducted a study involving 45 patients with CKD (average estimated glomerular filtration rate: 48.4 mL/min/1.73 m²) and were randomly divided into two groups, one receiving a 7-day daily upper-arm rIPC t(4 × 5 min 200 mmHg, interspaced by 5-min reperfusion) or control (4 × 5 min 60 mmHg, interspaced by 5-min reperfusion). The vascular endothelial function was assessed by measuring the natural logarithm–transformed reactive hyperemia index (LnRHI) before and after the 7-day intervention. Arterial elasticity was evaluated using the augmentation index (AI).

The results showed that LnRHI could be improved by rIPC treatment (Pre = 0.57 ± 0.04 vs. Post = 0.67 ± 0.04, P=.001) with no changes relative to control (Pre = 0.68 ± 0.06 vs. Post = 0.64 ± 0.05, P=.470). Compared with the control group, the improvement of LnRHI was greater after rIPC treatment (rIPC vs. Control: 0.10 ± 0.03 vs. -0.04 ± 0.06, between-group mean difference, -0.15 [95% CI, -0.27 to -0.02], P=.027), while there was no significant difference in the change of AI@75 bpm (P=.312) between the two groups.

Investigators concluded that RIPC is safe and potentially improves endothelial function in CKD patients, but larger trials are needed for confirmation.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nep.14282