Abstract

Zinc behavior during dialysis. (Zinc Dialysance) Zinc movement during dialysis and serum zinc concentration in fifteen chronic hemodialysis patients were examined. The serum zinc concentration and movement were discussed from the point of zinc dialysance and free diffusible zinc. We measured serum zinc concentration before and after hemodialysis. Also, we examined zinc in the arterial blood and in the dialysate at the inflow and outflow sites of the dialyzer. Zinc levels of ultrafiltrate fluid obtained with ECUM method were measured at the fifteen minutes after the beginning of hemodialysis. We calculated zinc dialysance and examined the relationship zinc dialysance between free diffusible zinc. Hematocrit and total serum protein were measured before and after hemodialysis to examine hemoconcentration. We obtained the following results: serum zinc concentration before dialysis 74.0±7.8, after dialysis 88.1±9.7μg/dl, serum zinc levels of the blood at the inflow site of the dialyzer 74.7±8.1, outflow site 80.2±6.5μg/dl, dialysate zinc concentration inflow site 10.6±2.5μg/dl, outflow site 9.5±5.9μg/dl. There was no significant difference between (Zn levels after HD)/(Zn levels before HD) and (T. P levels after HD)/(T. P levels before HD). From these facts, we reached the following conclusion that serum zinc concentration during dialysis can increase by hemoconcentration as water is lost and by diffusion of zinc from the dialysate to the blood. Zinc dialysance was negative in 13 of 15 hemodialysis patients.