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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Kidney Dis. 2016 Nov 17;69(2):266–277. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2016.09.015

Table 1a.

Patient characteristics by pre-dialysis serum K

Serum K (mEq/L)
< 4.0 4.0 – 5.0 5.1 – 6.0 > 6.0
N patients (%) 6300 (11%) 27525 (50%) 16959 (31%) 4399 (8%)
Demographics
 Age (years) 63.8 ± 15.2 63.0 ± 15.2 61.8 ± 15.3 60.4 ± 15.3
 Sex (% men) 56% 58% 59% 56%
 Black race (%) 20% 17% 11% 7%
 Vintage (years) 2.0 ± 3.7 2.9 ± 4.4 4.0 ± 5.2 4.5 ± 5.4
Hemodialysis-related characteristics
 Central venous catheter use (%) 47% 34% 26% 25%
 Single Pool Kt/V 1.41 ± 0.35 1.46 ± 0.34 1.46 ± 0.33 1.44 ± 0.34
 Treatment time (min) 219 ± 37 225 ± 38 230 ± 39 233 ± 39
 Dialysate Potassium (mEq/L) 2.4 ± 0.7 2.2 ± 0.6 2.1 ± 0.6 2.0 ± 0.6
Laboratory and biometric measurements 
 Body mass index (kg/m2) 26.6 ± 6.4 26.6 ± 6.3 26.0 ± 6.0 25.2 ± 5.5
 Pre-dialysis SBP (mm Hg) 144 ± 24 145 ± 23 145 ± 23 145 ± 23
 Hemoglobin (g/dL) 10.7 ± 1.6 11.0 ± 1.5 11.2 ± 1.6 11.2 ± 1.7
 Normalized PCR (g/kg/day) 0.85 ± 0.24 0.95 ± 0.25 1.04 ± 0.26 1.10 ± 0.27
 Serum Creatinine (mg/dL) 6.6 ± 2.8 7.7 ± 3.0 8.9 ± 2.9 9.7 ± 3.0
 Serum Albumin (g/dL) 3.46 ± 0.61 3.65 ± 0.53 3.76 ± 0.51 3.81 ± 0.52
 WBC count (103 cells/mm3) 7.6 ± 2.9 7.3 ± 2.5 7.2 ± 2.4 7.4 ± 2.5
 Serum Bicarbonate (mEq/L) 23.9 ± 4.0 22.9 ± 3.6 22.1 ± 3.6 21.3 ± 3.8
 Serum Calcium (mg/dL) 8.8 ± 0.9 9.0 ± 0.9 9.1 ± 0.9 9.2 ± 0.9
 Serum Phosphorus (mg/dL) 4.7 ± 1.7 5.2 ± 1.7 5.6 ± 1.8 6.0 ± 2.0
 Serum Potassium (mEq/L) 3.6 ± 0.3 4.5 ± 0.3 5.5 ± 0.3 6.5 ± 0.4
Medications (%)
 ACEi 19% 23% 25% 23%
 ARB 12% 13% 15% 15%
 Diuretic 35% 30% 24% 18%
 Potassium-binding resin 4% 6% 11% 17%
Comorbid conditions (%)
 Coronary artery disease 43% 42% 41% 38%
 Cancer (non-skin) 13% 13% 12% 11%
 Other cardiovascular disease 31% 30% 32% 31%
 Cerebrovascular disease 17% 16% 15% 14%
 Heart failure 36% 33% 32% 30%
 Diabetes 48% 46% 40% 34%
 Gastrointestinal bleeding 7% 5% 5% 5%
 Hypertension 84% 84% 84% 82%
 Lung disease 13% 13% 13% 13%
 Neurologic disease 11% 10% 10% 10%
 Psychiatric disorder 21% 18% 18% 19%
 Peripheral vascular disease 27% 26% 26% 25%
 Recurrent cellulitis, gangrene 9% 9% 9% 9%

Mean ± SD or % shown; N=55,183 patients who were included in all-cause mortality analyses.

ACEi=angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor; ARB=Angiotensin II receptor antagonist; nPCR=normalized protein catabolic rate; SBP=systolic blood pressure; WBC=white blood cell.

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