TABLE 3.
Changes in blood chemistry during treatment
| Treatment groupa | Group differenceb | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACEBO (n=14) | RAPA (n=11) | |||||||||
| Pre | Post | P value | Difference (95%CI) | Pre | Post | P value | Difference (95%CI) | P value | Difference (95%CI) | |
| BUN | 18.71 ± 4.39 | 18.36 ± 6.1 | 0.74 | −0.36 [−2.63, 1.91] | 22.27 ± 7.72 | 21.45 ± 7.17 | 0.64 | −0.82 [−4.58, 2.94] | 0.82 | 0.46 [−3.73, 4.65] |
| CREAT | 0.99 ± 0.28 | 1.05 ± 0.34 | 0.05 | 0.06 [0, 0.12] | 1.2 ± 0.5 | 1.21 ± 0.59 | 0.8 | 0.01 [−0.08, 0.1] | 0.31 | 0.05 [−0.05, 0.15] |
| Sodium | 140 ± 2.39 | 139.14 ± 2.07 | 0.1 | −0.86 [−1.89, 0.18] | 139.91 ± 1.3 | 138.91 ± 1.92 | 0.08 | −1 [−2.16, 0.16] | 0.84 | 0.14 [−1.33, 1.61] |
| Potassium | 4.02 ± 0.45 | 4.05 ± 0.36 | 0.69 | 0.03 [−0.12, 0.18] | 4.05 ± 0.34 | 3.93 ± 0.42 | 0.34 | −0.13 [−0.41, 0.15] | 0.29 | 0.16 [−0.15, 0.46] |
| Chloride | 105.29 ± 4.16 | 104.07 ± 4.3 | 0.09 | −1.21 [−2.63, 0.2] | 103.91 ± 3.24 | 104.55 ± 3.53 | 0.47 | 0.64 [−1.25, 2.52] | 0.1 | −1.85 [−4.08, 0.38] |
| CO2 | 26.64 ± 2.5 | 27 ± 2.22 | 0.58 | 0.36 [−1.01, 1.73] | 26.73 ± 2.65 | 26.64 ± 2.69 | 0.91 | −0.09 [−1.9, 1.72] | 0.67 | 0.45 [−1.7, 2.6] |
| Calcium | 9.33 ± 0.38 | 9.39 ± 0.36 | 0.42 | 0.06 [−0.1, 0.23] | 9.35 ± 0.34 | 9.23 ± 0.2 | 0.22 | −0.12 [−0.32, 0.08] | 0.14 | 0.18 [−0.06, 0.43] |
| PROTEIN | 6.76 ± 0.43 | 7.07 ± 0.44 | 0.004 | 0.31 [0.12, 0.51] | 6.92 ± 0.32 | 6.93 ± 0.47 | 0.96 | 0.01 [−0.37, 0.39] | 0.13 | 0.31 [−0.1, 0.72] |
| ALBUMIN | 3.97 ± 0.34 | 4.16 ± 0.29 | 0.002 | 0.19 [0.08, 0.29] | 3.96 ± 0.17 | 3.82 ± 0.35 | 0.23 | −0.15 [−0.4, 0.11] | 0.018 | 0.33 [0.07, 0.6] |
| ALK PHOS | 64.64 ± 8.71 | 68.29 ± 9.6 | 0.07 | 3.64 [−0.3, 7.58] | 58.09 ± 16.05 | 61.36 ± 13.34 | 0.29 | 3.27 [−3.28, 9.83] | 0.92 | 0.37 [−6.93, 7.67] |
| TBILI | 0.66 ± 0.19 | 0.69 ± 0.21 | 0.51 | 0.03 [−0.06, 0.12] | 0.78 ± 0.35 | 0.69 ± 0.27 | 0.14 | −0.09 [−0.22, 0.03] | 0.11 | 0.12 [−0.03, 0.27] |
| AST | 20.57 ± 4.29 | 20.79 ± 3.89 | 0.81 | 0.21 [−1.72, 2.15] | 20.36 ± 4.06 | 23.18 ± 5.69 | 0.11 | 2.82 [−0.73, 6.37] | 0.17 | −2.6 [−6.48, 1.27] |
| ALT | 16.36 ± 3.54 | 16.5 ± 3.92 | 0.82 | 0.14 [−1.16, 1.44] | 17.64 ± 5.89 | 18.09 ± 5.43 | 0.7 | 0.45 [−2.08, 2.99] | 0.81 | −0.31 [−3.05, 2.43] |
. To compare changes in blood chemistry over the treatment period, the “Pre” values (taken before treatment was initiated) were subtracted from the “Post” values to obtain the “Difference” within a treatment group and were assessed by paired t-tests to identify any statistically significant changes in either the RAPA or Placebo groups. The p-values are shown. The direction of the change is indicated in the “Difference column” where a positive number indicates a higher mean value after 6–8 weeks of treatment and a negative value reflects a lower value after treatment. The 95% confidence interval is shown in brackets. The mean values measured are shown ± standard deviation. Individual values for several of these markers and some additional data are shown graphically in Figure 1A,B,C.
. To determine whether there was a difference in the RAPA vs. the placebo group, the mean “difference” values were compared using a Welch’s t-test. The resulting p-values are shown. The difference mean changes seen in the RAPA and placebo groups are shown with the 95% confidence interval in brackets.