B. Agroyannis et al., ALTERATIONS IN ECHINOCYTE TRANSFORMATION AND ERYTHROCYTE SEDIMENTATION-RATE DURING HEMODIALYSIS, Artificial organs, 21(4), 1997, pp. 327-330
In 18 uremic patients under regular hemodialysis (HD) with bicarbonate
dialysate, the echinocytes and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR)
were determined in 4 blood samples collected from the arterial line at
0, 45, 120, and 240 min (end-HD) in one HD session by a bioincompatib
le dialyzer and in another by a biocompatible one. In the HD session b
y a bioincompatible dialyzer, the mean values (+/-SEM) of echinocytes
(%) at 0, 45, 120, and 240 min were 8.89 +/- 1.15, 20.77 +/- 2.35, 7.3
9 +/- 1.1, 5.27 +/- 0.66 and of ESR (mm/h) were 65.00 +/- 6.26, 47.05
+/- 3.89, 66.72 +/- 6.00, 68.44 +/- 5.92, respectively. According to t
hese findings, echinocytes show a transient significant increase at 45
min HD in comparison to those at 0 (p < 0.001), 120 (p < 0.001), and
240 (p < 0.001) min while ESR shows a transient significant decrease a
t 45 min HD compared with the rates at 0 (p < 0.05), 120 (p < 0.05) an
d 240 (p < 0.01) min. In the HD sessions with the biocompatible dialyz
er, the mean values (+/-SEM) of echinocytes at the aforementioned 4 ti
me points were 8.55 +/- 1.10, 17.05 +/- 2.40, 17.05 +/- 1.19, and 5.11
+/- 0.75%, and the ESR values were 60.89 +/- 6.08, 44.33 +/- 4.18, 62
.94 +/- 6.55, and 65.61 +/- 6.13 mm/h, respectively. These values also
show a transient significant increase of echinocytes at 45 min HD in
comparison with those at 0 (p < 0.01), 120 (p < 0.01), and 240 (p < 0.
001) min, with a parallel transient decrease of ESR at 45 min HD as co
mpared to the ones at 0 (p < 0.05), 120 (p < 0.05), and 240 (p < 0.05)
min. Although the echinocytosis at 45 min HD was more prominent in HD
by the bioincompatible than by the biocompatible dialyzer, the compar
ison between these values indicates no significant difference in the e
chinocytes or the ESR. In conclusion, uremic patients receiving HD exh
ibit echinocytes, the percentage of which shows a transient increase a
t 45 min HD that returns to about baseline at 120 min HD. In parallel
with the changes in echinocytes, the ESR shows an inverse change at 45
min HD which returns to baseline at 120 min HD.