MO727EFFECT OF SACUBITRIL/VALSARTAN ON SERUM POTASSIUM AND BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS OF DIALYSIS PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE
Authors: Gula Renee Mari , Coronel Marichel , Villanueva Russel 
Published: May 2021

Background and Aims

Heart failure is a frequent complication in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). As the kidney function declines, the incidence of heart failure and all-cause mortality increases. Heart failure is treated based on the ejection fraction and most of the treatments are often dependent on the renal function. The treatment guidelines of heart failure are not entirely applicable to those with CKD, since this population is usually not included in the randomized control trials.

The introduction of neprilysin-inhibitor changed the paradigm of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) treatment but the effects on dialysis patients is still under studied. Sacubitril/Valsartan is an ARNI that has been recommended as a treatment for symptomatic HFrEF. Monitoring of renal function and potassium is recommended for patients who will take Sacubitril/Valsartan and the two most common side effects are hyperkalemia and hypotension.

This study evaluated the safety of Sacubitril/Valsartan by assessing the incidence of hyperkalemia and hypotension on patients undergoing maintenance dialysis - peritoneal or hemodialysis. The objective of the study was to compare the effect of losartan against sacubitril/valsartan on the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and serum potassium level across three time points (1st, 2nd, and 3rd month follow-up).

Method

This retrospective, cohort, single-center study of dialysis patients with HFrEF is designed to assess the safety of Sacubitril/Valsartan versus Losartan based on the blood pressure and serum potassium level. A total of 96 patients on dialysis diagnosed with HFrEF was included in the study. Half was prescribed with Sacubitril/Valsartan while half was prescribed with Losartan. Serum potassium, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were recorded at baseline and monthly on the first three months of follow-up. Baseline 2d echocardiography was also reviewed.

Results

There were 96 chronic kidney disease patients with HF; 48 were on peritoneal dialysis and 48 on hemodialysis. Per group, 24 were given Losartan and 24 were given Sacubitril/Valsartan for 3 months. The mean age was 47.5 (15.5) years and ranges from 19 to 78 years old. Sixty two percent were males. The most common diagnosis were glomerulonephritis (36.5%), hypertensive nephrosclerosis (27.1%) and diabetic nephropathy (26%).

In this retrospective study, we found that there were no episodes of hypotension and hyperkalemia on both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients who were prescribed with Sacubitril/Valsartan. All the hemodialysis patients included in this study were maintained on thrice a week hemodialysis sessions and the peritoneal dialysis patients had at least 3 exchanges per day.

There were no significant change at three points in time (1st, 2nd, and 3rd month follow-up) in the levels of systolic blood pressure (p-value= 0.780, 0.609, 0.926), diastolic blood pressure (p-value= 0.692, 0.206, 0.527), and serum potassium (p-value= 0.212, 0.084, 0.095) on patients maintained on Sacubitril/Valsartan compared to Losartan. There was no evidence of hyperkalemia or hypotension on dialysis patients taking both medications.

Conclusion

Sacubitril/Valsartan is recommended in the therapy for HFrEF because of the documented benefits in the non-CKD and non-dialysis CKD patients. In this study, Sacubitril/Valsartan is well tolerated and has same effect on the serum potassium and blood pressure compared to Losartan. We concluded that there was no episode of hyperkalemia and hypotension on dialysis patients taking both medications. For the first time, this study demonstrated that Sacubitril/Valsartan is safe to be used in dialysis patients.