EFFECT OF CHRONIC RENAL HEMODIALYSIS ON SERUM TOTAL, FREE AND ACYL CARNITINE CONCENTRATIONS IN ADULT CHRONIC PYELONEPHRITIS PATIENTS

In the present study, serum total (TC), free (FC), and acyl (AC) carni tine levels were investigated in 20 healthy controls (13 males and 7 f emales) and 27 patients (10 males and 17 females) with chronic pyelone phritis (CPN) undergoing regular chronic hemodialysis (CHD). The resul ts showed that CHD treatment in CPN patients displays significantly de creased serum L-carnitine levels. The mean predialysis serum TC, FC, a nd AC (48 +/- 8, 42 +/- 6.3 and 13 +/- 2.7 nmol/ml, respectively) were not significantly different from the mean healthy control serum TC, F C and AC (50 +/- 7.1, 46 +/- 6.1 and 10 +/- 2.1 nmol/ml, respectively) (p <0.1). However, after CHD, a significant decrease in serum TC, FC a nd AC levels (21.2 +/- 4.2, 17.1 +/- 3.1 and 6.1 +/- 2.4 nmol/ml, resp ectively) was observed compared to the values in both predialysis (48 +/- 8, 42 +/- 6.3 and 13 +/- 2.7 nmol/ml, respectively) and healthy co ntrols (50 +/- 7.1, 46 +/- 6.1 and 10 +/- 2.1 nmol/ml, respectively), (p <0.001). Serum TC, FC and AC levels of male (49 +/- 5.5, 44 +/- 6.1 and 9.5 +/- 2.1 nmol/ml, respectively) and female (47.8 +/- 6.2, 38.5 +/- 9.3 and 9.7 +/- 2.3 nmol/l, respectively) healthy controls, and m ale (45.6 +/- 6.7, 44.1 +/- 5.1 and 12.3 +/- 1.5 nmol/ml, respectively ) and female (46 +/- 5.1, 39 +/- 5.7 and 11.7 +/- 2.2 nmol/ml, respect ively) predialysis patients showed no significant difference (p <0.1). However, after CHD, serum TC, FC and AC levels of male (22.5 +/- 2.7, 16.8 +/- 3.9 and 5.1 +/- 2.1 nmol/ml, respectively) and female (19.5 +/- 2.4, 15.2 +/- 1.41 and 5.7 +/- 2.7 nmol/ml, respectively) patients were significantly decreased, compared with predialysis values (p <0. 001). After CHD, the ratio of serum AC to FC (0.47 +/- 0.03) was signi ficantly increased compared with both healthy controls (0.3 +/- 0.03) and predialysis patients (0.32 +/- 0.03) (p <0.001 and p <0.01, respec tively). Comparatively, the ratio of serum AC to FC was increased sign ificantly after CHD (males, 0.45 +/- 0.02 and females, 0.41 +/- 0.03) when compared with both gender healthy controls (males, 0.29 +/- 0.052 and females, 0.26 +/- 0.033) and both gender predialysis patients (ma les, 0.33 +/- 0.02 and females 0.28 +/- 0.01), (p <0.001). A possible physiological consequence of this finding remains unclear.