Table 2.
Demographic characteristics of the patients (n = 27)
| Total | BCAA–glycine | Glycine–BCAA | P a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 27) | (n = 15) | (n = 12) | ||
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 61.2 (13.7) | 63.3 (13.4) | 58.6 (14.2) | 0.390 |
| Mean (SD) duration of haemodialysis (months) | 25.4 (21.1) | 29.3 (21.1) | 20.7 (21.0) | 0.302 |
| Gender | 0.130 | |||
| Female | 11 (41) | 4 (27) | 7 (58) | |
| Male | 16 (59) | 11 (73) | 5 (42) | |
| Site | 0.870 | |||
| Geneva b | 15 (56) | 9 (60) | 6 (50) | |
| Lausanne | 5 (19) | 3 (20) | 2 (17) | |
| Sion | 7 (25) | 3 (20) | 4 (33) | |
| Aetiology of kidney failure c | 0.525 | |||
| Diabetes (Types 1 and 2) | 9 (25) | 6 (29) | 3 (19) | |
| Hypertension | 17 (47) | 7 (33) | 10 (63) | |
| Polycystic kidney disease | 4 (11) | 3 (14) | 1 (6) | |
| Chronic glomerulonephritis | 4 (11) | 4 (19) | 1 (6) | |
| Other | 2 (6) | 1 (5) | 1 (6) | |
| Type of dialysis | 0.487 | |||
| Haemodiafiltration | 25 (93) | 13 (80) | 12 (100) | |
| Haemofiltration | 2 (7) | 2 (20) | 0 | |
| Access | 0.797 | |||
| Native arteriovenous fistula | 21 (78) | 12 (80) | 9 (75) | |
| Prothetic arteriovenous fistula | 1 (4) | 0 | 1 (8) | |
| Central catheter | 5 (18) | 3 (20) | 2 (17) | |
| Prescribed dialysis time/session | 0.487 | |||
| 4 h, 3× per week | 25 (93) | 13 (80) | 12 (100) | |
| 3.5 h, 3× per week | 2 (7) | 2 (20) | 0 | |
| Dialysis membrane | ||||
| Copolymer of acrylonitrile and methylsulfonate | 4 (5) | 2 (20) | 2 (17) | 0.611 |
| Polysulfone or polyamide | 23 (85) | 13 (80) | 10 (83) |
BCAA, branched‐chain amino acid; SD, standard deviation.
Data are expressed as number (%), unless stated otherwise.
Comparisons between groups by Fisher's exact test or unpaired t‐tests as appropriate. With the Benjamini–Hochberg method, significance was corrected to P < 0.005.
Patients included in the clinic of Champel (n = 6) performed all their study assessments at the University Hospitals of Geneva and were dialyzed by a fellow of the University Hospital of Geneva (N.M.). They were thus included in the site ‘Geneva’.
One patient can have several aetiologies for his kidney failure, explaining that the n may be higher than 27, 15, or 12 for the total patient, patients in the BCAA–glycine group, and patients in the glycine–BCAA group, respectively.