title: Effect of hemodialysis on circulating cystatin c levels in patients with end stage renal disease.
abstract: Plasma cystatin C is an emerging parameter to assess kidney function. Its utility in assessing the adequacy of hemodialysis in patients with end-stage-renal disease has however not been established with certainty. This study was therefore carried out to assess the usefulness of serum cystatin C estimation in patients undergoing low flux membrane hemodialysis. Serum creatinine and cystatin C were estimated in 20 patients before and after undergoing hemodialysis. The mean serum creatinine decreased from a pre-dialysis value of 7.72 mg/dL to a post-dialysis value of 2.90 mg/dL. On the contrary, the mean serum cystatin C levels were found to increase from a pre-dialysis value of 5.97 mg/L to a post-dialysis value of 8.25 mg/L. Therefore, serum cystatin C cannot be used to monitor dialysis adequacy. It however, serves as a surrogate marker of the inadequacy of low flux membrane bicarbonate hemodialysis in clearing low molecular weight proteins from the circulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Sathyabama University, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Krishnamurthy
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arumugasamy
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aruna
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gayathri
keywords: Creatinine; Cystatin C; Hemodialysis; Post-dialysis; Pre-dialysis