DIALYSIS HYPERSENSITIVITY - A FADING PROBLEM

Allergic-type reactions experienced by patients on chronic hemodialysi s are frequently reported in the literature, often related to compound s released during the hemodialysis sessions, in particular ethylene ox ide (ETO). In these studies, dialysis patients seem to have higher val ues of ISE than those observed in a reference population. The aim of o ur work was to investigate IgE-related parameters of 126 dialysis pati ents in comparison with two control groups composed of healthy subject s and predialysis patients, ISE values were not significantly differen t in nonallergic dialysis patients, with a geometric mean (X) of 27.5 kU/l, when compared to healthy controls (X = 38 kU/l) and predialysis subjects (X = 40.7 kU/l). Higher values of IgE (X = 74.1 kU/l) were de tected in allergic dialysis patients. However, only 3 patients, all wi thout detectable antibodies against ETO, complained of anaphylactic sy mptoms during dialysis sessions in a 4-year surveillance period, At va riance, 6 symptom-free patients carried IgE antibodies against ETO (ra nge 0.7-15 kU/l), usually with high total IgE, Our results suggest a r educed frequency of hypersensitivity reactions during dialysis session s. Furthermore, uremia does not alter IgE reactivity in the predialysi s period or after longterm maintenance dialysis treatment.