A study was undertaken in 24 Chinese patients on maintenance continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, using bezafibrate in its sustained-release form to correct lipid abnormalities. Six patients who received 400 mg/day developed severe muscle weakness with grossly elevated creatine phosphokinase activities within 3 weeks. The drug was discontinued and the symptoms disappeared. The remaining 18 patients received 400 mg/week for 8 weeks. There was a significant decrease in serum triglyceride (2.74 ± 0.33 to 1.86 ± 0.17 mmol/l at the 4th week and 1.65 ± 0.4 mmol/l at the 8th week). Concomitantly, serum total cholesterol decreased. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased significantly (from 1.18 ± 0.082 to 1.36 ± 0.060 mmol/l at the 4th week and 1.40 ± 0.103 mmol/l at the 8th week). Post-heparin lipoprotein and hepatic Upases were measured by a substrate-specific method. The former increased significantly (p = 0.000) after bezafibrate treatment while the latter did not change. All parameters of lipid metabolism returned towards baseline 4 weeks after discontinuation of therapy. The drug was well tolerated at 400 mg/week and there was no significant rise in serum creatine phosphokinase.

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The optimal number of times a hollow-fibre cuprammonium rayon (Terumo TAF) dialyzer could be used was determined in twelve patients. Each dialyzer was reused six times. There was a highly significant decrease in neutrophil count (46.9 +/- 6.9%, mean +/- s.e.m.), platelet count (9.6 +/- 3.8%, mean +/- s.e.m.) and serum C3 concentration (10.25 +/- 2.4%, mean +/- s.e.m.) 30 minutes after the commencement of dialysis The intensity of these changes decreased with the re-use of the dialyzers up to the fourth time. There was a small, but significant increase in serum beta 2-microglobulin concentrations after a 6-hour dialysis. The difference between pre- and post-dialysis serum beta 2-microglobulin concentrations appeared to be greater during the 5th and the 6th use (18.8% and 20.5% vs 5.0% during the first use). The clearance rates of urea and creatinine showed a trend to decrease from the fourth use onwards and the ultrafiltration coefficient was significantly reduced from the third use (8.5 +/- 4.0 mean +/- s.e.m.) onwards so that at the sixth use it was only 75.8 +/- 4.8%, (mean +/- s.e.m.) of the value at the first use. It is concluded that the optimal number of uses a cuprammonium rayon hollow-fibre dialyzer can be put to is four.