Does dialysis therapy improve autonomic and peripheral nervous system abnormalities in chronic uraemia?

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction and peripheral neuropathy occur in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Adequate renal replacement therapy should prevent development or correct these abnormalities.

We studied retrospectively ANS and peripheral neuropathy in 32 patients with chronic uraemia who received either haemodialysis (16) or peritoneal dialysis (16) therapy, and compared the observed dialysis efficiency with changes in neurological function.

Heart rate variability (HRV) time domain indices and peripheral sensory nerve conduction studies were followed for a mean of 2.9 years. The adequacy of haemodialysis (HD) efficiency was estimated by Kt/V, an index of fractional urea clearance. Adequacy of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) was estimated on the basis of the patient's wellbeing and nutritional status as excellent, satisfactory or poor. Based on observed changes in HRV time domain measures, the observations were divided in three subgroups: improved, unchanged or deteriorated.

The peripheral sensory nerve conduction studies were abnormal in 38% of the patients and did not change significantly during the study. Improvement in HRV time domain measures occurred in HD patients with mean Kt/V > 1.20 or in CAPD patients with satisfactory or excellent response to dialysis treatment. Values of Kt/V < 0.85 in HD patients were associated with progressive deterioration of autonomic neuropathy. Diabetic patients (n = 4) differed from others as their HRV was grossly abnormal and did not improve.

The adequacy of haemodialysis is a predictor of improvement of cardiac autonomic nervous function in chronic uraemia. The same trend of improvement was seen also in CAPD patients.