Table 1.
Patient characteristics and laboratory data at baseline
| Levocarnitine group | Control group | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients | 30 | 30 | |
| Male/female | 21/9 | 17/13 | 0.291 |
| Age, years | 70 ± 10 | 69 ± 11 | 0.781 |
| Duration of dialysis, months | 48 ± 77 | 52 ± 54 | 0.761 |
| Diabetes mellitus, % | 53 | 57 | 0.799 |
| Dry weight, kg | 57.8 ± 8.9 | 57.4 ± 8.0 | 0.805 |
| Cardiothoracic ratio, % | 49.8 ± 4.5 | 49.6 ± 5.2 | 0.865 |
| Comorbidities, % | |||
| Ischemic heart disease | 17 | 13 | 0.723 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 10 | 13 | 0.693 |
| Peripheral artery disease | 3 | 7 | 0.561 |
| Medications, % | |||
| RAS inhibitors | 83 | 80 | 0.743 |
| Calcium channel blockers | 73 | 80 | 0.549 |
| (3-Blockers | 27 | 33 | 0.581 |
| Vitamin D | 90.0 | 87 | 0.693 |
| Phosphate binders | 100 | 100 | – |
| Statins | 47 | 50 | 0.800 |
| Iron supplementation | 0 | 0 | – |
| Laboratory data | |||
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 11.0 ± 1.1 | 10.8 ± 1.2 | 0.491 |
| ESA dose, units/week | 6,747 ± 4,562 | 6,241 ± 5,226 | 0.691 |
| ERI | 10.7 ± 7.3 | 10.0 ± 7.9 | 0.717 |
| Distribution of ERI, n | 0.502 | ||
| <5.0 | 5 | 9 | |
| 5.0±10.0 | 11 | 8 | |
| 10.1±15.0 | 5 | 5 | |
| >15.0 | 9 | 8 | |
| Serum urea nitrogen, mg/dL | 59.2 ± 13.4 | 60 ± 13.4 | 0.885 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 8.2 ± 2.3 | 8.5 ± 1.9 | 0.601 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.7 ± 0.4 | 3.7 ± 0.4 | 0.805 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 149 ± 25 | 157 ± 27 | 0.252 |
| LDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 83 ± 24 | 88 ± 17 | 0.342 |
| Triglyceride, mg/dL | 127 ± 63 | 131 ± 61 | 0.811 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/dL | 0.28 ± 0.14 | 0.31 ± 0.14 | 0.412 |
| Corrected calcium, mg/dL | 9.1 ± 0.4 | 9.1 ± 0.4 | 0.792 |
| Phosphate, mg/dL | 5.5 ± 0.7 | 5.4 ± 0.7 | 0.574 |
| Intact PTH, pg/mL | 142 ± 80 | 153 ± 98 | 0.643 |
| Iron, µg/mL | 66 ± 28 | 61 ± 27 | 0.554 |
| TSAT, % | 25.2 ± 7.0 | 24.0 ± 8.1 | 0.472 |
| Ferritin, ng/mL | 111 ± 49 | 99 ± 49 | 0.328 |
| (β2-Microglobulin, mg/L | 24.7 ± 7.0 | 26.9 ± 4.7 | 0.173 |
| Median NT-proBNP (IQR), pg/mL | 9,310 (4,855 – 14,050) | 7,990 (2,995 – 14,200) | 0.596 |
Values are means ± standard deviations unless otherwise indicated. ERI, erythropoiesis resistance index; ESA, erythropoiesis-stimulating agent; IQR, interquartile range; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; PTH, parathyroid hormone; RAS, renin-angiotensin system; TSAT, transferrin saturation.