MO794EVALUATION OF THE BONE ELASTIC STRUCTURE IN PERSONS WITH AND WITHOUT CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE ON DIALYSIS
Authors: Ferraro Pietro Manuel , Nicolosi Alessandra , Naticchia Alessandro , Panocchia Nicola , Grandaliano Giuseppe , Cosmi Francesca 
Published: May 2021

Background and Aims

Chronic kidney disease is a frequent condition, characterized, especially in its more advanced stages, by an array of derangements in bone structure and density, resulting in a higher rate of bone fractures. Current strategies to monitor the bone status and assess the risk of bone fractures in CKD patients are limited.

The Bone Elastic Structure (BES) test is a recently-developed non-invasive tool that measures the elastic characteristics of the trabecular bone by simulating the application of loads on a virtual biopsy obtained from radiographic images of the proximal epiphyses in the patient’s hand fingers. The simulation results are combined to obtain a parameter defined Bone Structure Index (BSI). The aim of our study is to explore whether the BES test could be a useful monitoring tool of bone status in patients with CKD on dialysis by exploring whether such patients have different BSI values compared with persons without CKD.

Method

The BES test was performed on a sample of 41 patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis (HD) and the BSI compared with a group of 374 persons with normal renal function who had undergone the BES test in previous studies. Differences in BSI and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between the two groups were obtained and tested for statistical significance with a linear regression model including BSI as the dependent variable and kidney status (HD vs no HD) as the independent variable, adjusted for age and sex. Subgroup effects were explored by including interaction terms (age x kidney status, age x sex, kidney status x sex) in the model. Finally, to further remove the potential confounding by age and sex, each HD patient was individually matched with up to 4 non-HD participants based on sex and age (with a 5-year caliper) and a matched analysis was conducted on BSI values.

Results

Average (SD) age was 64 (17) years in the HD group and 60 (12) years in the non-HD group, with a prevalence of males of 49% and 16%, respectively.

The individual values of BSI divided by kidney status and sex in Figure. The multivariate linear regression model showed that, after adjustment for age and sex, the BSI in the HD group was significantly lower compared with the non-HD group (HD 145, 95% CI 140, 154; non-HD 179, 95% CI 177, 181; absolute difference −32, 95% CI −40, −25; p-value &lt; 0.001). There was no significant interaction between age, sex and kidney status on BSI values (all p-values &gt; 0.05).

Individual matching was successful for 36 out of 41 HD patients, who were matched to 127 non-HD participants; matched analysis confirmed the results (absolute difference −31, 95% CI −40, −23; p-value &lt; 0.001).

Conclusion

The output of a non-invasive tool to determine the bone elastic structure appeared to be strongly associated with kidney function after control for differences in age and sex. Further studies are needed to determine the potential application of the BES test in patients with CKD.