Table 4.
Changes in serum inflammatory markers and calcification propensity over 24 weeks in the SCaRF trial
| Treatment group | Baseline |
Week 12 |
Week 24 |
Within-group treatment effect estimate (95% CI) | P value | Treatment effect estimate vs. CC (95% CI) | P value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Median (IQR) | N | Median (IQR) | N | Median (IQR) | |||||
| IL-6, pg/ml | ||||||||||
| CC | 11 | 9.5 (5.0, 15.0) | 10 | 6.8 (5.0, 14.9) | 10 | 10.6 (7.5, 14.5) | 6.5% (–14.2 to 32.0) | 0.57 | — | — |
| SH + SC | 20 | 11.0 (6.2, 27.9) | 18 | 6.9 (5.0, 19.2) | 16 | 5.9 (5.0, 12.7) | –48.5% (–68.0 to –17.2) | 0.01 | –51.8% (–74.7 to –8.2) | 0.03 |
| IL-8, pg/ml | ||||||||||
| CC | 11 | 29.8 (24.6, 52.7) | 10 | 41.9 (23.9, 49.5) | 10 | 38.4 (25.8, 57.3) | 35.1% (5.2 to 73.6) | 0.02 | — | — |
| SH + SC | 20 | 29.7 (21.5, 46.8) | 18 | 25.0 (8.2, 50.4) | 16 | 22.1 (14.1, 43.7) | –45.5% (–63.8 to –17.9) | 0.01 | –6.6% (–73.3 to –29.6%) | 0.01 |
CC, calcium carbonate; IL, interleukin; IQR, interquartile range; SC, sevelamer carbonate; SCaRF, Sevelamer Versus Calcium to Reduce Fetuin-A-containing Calciprotein Particles in Dialysis; SH, sevelamer hydrochloride;95% CI, 95% confidence interval.
Serum IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations are expressed as median (25th, 75th percentiles) using all available data (N). IL-6, and IL-6 values were log-transformed before analysis. Within-group estimated treatment effects for IL-6 and IL-6 are as reported as percentage change from baseline in the geometric mean. Mixed-effects analyses are expressed after controlling for the baseline level of the parameter tested.