Variation of serum beta-2 microglobulin in Senegalese chronic hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Hemodialysis is an extrarenal purification technique widely used to increase life expectancy during chronic kidney disease. The latter contrasts with an impairment of quality of life due to joint complications caused by amyloidosis, resulting from the increase in the blood of beta-2 microglobulin (β2m). The objectives of our study were to determine the variation of serum β2m in chronic hemodialysis patients monitored at the nephrology department hemodialysis unit of Aristide Le Dantec Hospital and to investigate possible correlations between serum β2m and epidemiological parameters on the one hand and those of hemodialysis on the other. Serum β2m was measured by a two-step sandwich immunoassay method with final fluorescence detection, using the VIDAS 3 (BIOMERIEUX) immunoassay automaton. The study population consisted of 35 patients, 57 % male and 43 % female, the mean age was 48.97 years. The average length of time on dialysis was 5.94 years. The initial nephropathy was nephroangiosclerosis in 40 % of cases. The vascular approach was by an arteriovenous fistula in 91.4 % and a temporary venous catheter in 8.6 %, only a synthetic membrane was used. Serum β2m values were high with an average of 43.88 mg / l. Elevations in β2m were correlated with sex (p = 0.007), age (p = 0.007), length of time on dialysis (p = 0.0001) and residual diuresis (p = 0.035). Therefore, it is important to include β2m in the kidney disease monitoring report.