Assessment of nailfold microcirculation in non-dialysis CKD: Capillaroscopic indicators correlated with renal dysfunction
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Nephrology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
- 2Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
- 3Department of Nephrology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
- 4Department of Internal Medicine and Diagnostics, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is commonly associated with vascular injury. To date, efficient tools for assessing microcirculatory changes in non-dialysis CKD patients remain limited. We conducted a retrospectively registered study to employed nailfold capillaroscopy as a non-invasive method to evaluate peripheral microcirculation in CKD. A total of 104 participants were enrolled, including 63 patients with non-dialysis CKD patients (CKD group) and 41 healthy controls (control group). Renal function assessment and nailfold microcirculation examinations were performed for all participants. We analyzed 20 microcirculatory parameters and further explored their associations with serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cystatin C, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), CKD stage, and hemoglobin (Hb) within the CKD group. Results showed that serum creatinine, cystatin C, and CKD stage were independently and positively associated with the capillary number integral, whereas eGFR and hemoglobin were independently and negatively associated with the capillary number integral. In addition, serum creatinine, cystatin C, and CKD stage were independently and negatively associated with the subpapillary venular plexus integral, while eGFR was independently and positively associated with the subpapillary venular plexus integral. In summary, our findings suggest that several key renal function parameters are independently associated with capillary number integral and subpapillary venular plexus integral. These findings indicate that renal dysfunction may be associated with reduced capillary number and impaired subpapillary venous plexus relaxation in patients with non-dialysis CKD.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026assessment,
title = {{Assessment of nailfold microcirculation in non-dialysis CKD: Capillaroscopic indicators correlated with renal dysfunction}},
author = {Shulin Li and Ying Liu and Han Yan and Xinglei Zhou and Qi Liu and Yousuf Abdulkarim Waheed and Disheng Wang and Dong Sun},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359419},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359419},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessment of nailfold microcirculation in non-dialysis CKD: Capillaroscopic indicators correlated with renal dysfunction
AU - Shulin Li
AU - Ying Liu
AU - Han Yan
AU - Xinglei Zhou
AU - Qi Liu
AU - Yousuf Abdulkarim Waheed
AU - Disheng Wang
AU - Dong Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359419
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359419
AB - Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is commonly associated with vascular injury. To date, efficient tools for assessing microcirculatory changes in non-dialysis CKD patients remain limited. We conducted a retrospectively registered study to employed nailfold capillaroscopy as a non-invasive method to evaluate peripheral microcirculation in CKD. A total of 104 participants were enrolled, including 63 patients with non-dialysis CKD patients (CKD group) and 41 healthy controls (control group). Renal function assessment and nailfold microcirculation examinations were performed for all participants. We analyzed 20 microcirculatory parameters and further explored their associations with serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cystatin C, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), CKD stage, and hemoglobin (Hb) within the CKD group. Results showed that serum creatinine, cystatin C, and CKD stage were independently and positively associated with the capillary number integral, whereas eGFR and hemoglobin were independently and negatively associated with the capillary number integral. In addition, serum creatinine, cystatin C, and CKD stage were independently and negatively associated with the subpapillary venular plexus integral, while eGFR was independently and positively associated with the subpapillary venular plexus integral. In summary, our findings suggest that several key renal function parameters are independently associated with capillary number integral and subpapillary venular plexus integral. These findings indicate that renal dysfunction may be associated with reduced capillary number and impaired subpapillary venous plexus relaxation in patients with non-dialysis CKD.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -