Revista de Nefrología, Diálisis y Trasplante (Oct 2018)
Can we speak today of a phosphorus value as an indicator of dialysis treatment quality?
Abstract
Introduction: Bone and mineral metabolism disorder is a serious complication of Chronic Kidney Disease. Concerning phosphorus, the new KDIGO Guidelines suggest a reduction of hyperphosphatemia, but they do not recommend a specific value. However, in Argentina, a phosphorus value of 5 mg/dL or less is used as a dialysis quality indicator (DiaQualInd). Our objective was to evaluate whether this goal is currently valid as a DiaQualInd. Methods: A multicentric, crosssectional study was conducted. Patients older than 18 were included, with more than 90 days undergoing hemodialysis. Demographic and laboratory data were tabulated, comparing normophosphatemic with hyperphosphatemic values. According to this method, in 3 centers the upper reference limit was 4.5 mg/dL and in 4 centers it was 5.6 mg/dL. The latter were analyzed as a separate group (F 5.6). Results: There were 333 patients included in this study. Age, sex, AVF percentage, diabetes, time on dialysis, Kt/V, hemoglobin and albumin were similar to the registry data. The median phosphatemia was 5.2 mg/dL, (range: 2.3 to 10.6). The hyperphosphatemic patients were the youngest, spent less time on dialysis and showed higher hemoglobin and albumin values. In group F 5.6 (n = 203), according to KDIGO only 33.7% would need treatment. If this DiaQualInd were to be applied (phosphorus lower than 5 mg/dL), the percentage would be 55%, that is, 21.3% of normophosphatemic patients should be treated. Conclusions: Phosphatemia determination should be standardized before using a fixed value such as DiaQualInd.
