Serum thiamine level during the initiation term of hemodialysis

Abstract

It has been reported that thiamine deficiency is often seen in hemodialysis (HD) patients because of dietary restrictions as well as its loss during dialysis sessions. We studied the serum thiamine level before and after dialysis sessions during the initiation term of HD. Forty CKD patients who hospitalized to newly begin chronic HD were studied. We compared the serum thiamine levels at the first and the last HD sessions in our hospital. The serum thiamine level at the first HD decreased from 25.47±10.07 to 23.55±9.46 ng/ml (before and after HD session, respectively, p<0.05, paired t-test). At the last HD session in our hospital, the serum level of thiamine also decreased from 27.44±11.37 to 25.71±10.80 ng/ml (before and after HD session, respectively, p <0.05). Although water-soluble vitamins such as thiamine are lost during dialysis session, serum thiamine level tended to restore spontaneously during the hospitalization (25.47±10.07 vs. 27.44±11.37, pre HD value, p=0.09). A three months-follow up measurement after initiation of HD, which is now in progress (so far n=3), revealed increase of serum thiamine level in all patients (35.33±7.37 ng/ml). It may reflect the improvement of nutritional status after the initiation of HD, and suggests the loss of thiamine by HD procedure can be covered.