Correlation of Treatment Time and Ultrafiltration Rate with Serum Albumin and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Patients with End-Stage Kidney Disease Receiving Chronic Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The relationship between treatment time, ultrafiltration rate (UFR) and inflammation has received limited exploration so far. Methods: This is a cross-sectional cohort study of 12 hemodialysis clinics. Statistical models explored the association of multiple patient-and dialysis-specific co-variates with low albumin (<= 40 g/l) or high C-reactive protein (CRP) (>5 mg/dl) and calculated the ORs and 95% CIs. Results: 616 patients with a mean age of 60.9 +/- 14.4 years participated in our study. Mean treatment time was 237.3 +/- 23.8 min and mean UFR was 7.0 +/- 4.0 ml/kg/h. In stepwise logistic regression, treatment time >4 h reduced the risk of low albumin (OR 0.397, 95% CI 0.235-0.672, p < 0.001). Congestive heart failure (OR 1.634, 95% CI 1.154-2.312, p = 0.006) and acute infection (OR 1.799, 95% CI 1.059-3.056, p = 0.03) were significant correlates of the risk of high CRP. There was no association between UFR and either CRP or albumin. Conclusion: Treatment time had a significant cross-sectional association with serum albumin but not with CRP. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel