The influence of hemodialysis on plasma fluoride

Since storage of fluoride in the skeleton has been blamed as an etiologic factor in the development of renal osteodystrophy, we studied the influence of hemodialysis on plasma fluoride levels in 17 patients with chronic renal failure on regular hemodialysis. The fluoride level in dialysate was found to be 19 micrograms/L, and 7.2 +/- 1.2 micrograms/L in healthy persons. Before hemodialysis, the mean fluoride level was 117.3 +/- 8.4 micrograms/L. It decreased to 113.3 +/- 8.5 micrograms/L at the first hour of dialysis and to 105.7 +/- 8.6 micrograms/L at the end of the dialysis, with no significance. We suggest that it would be appropriate to use "very low-fluoride" dialysate in order to reduce the plasma fluoride levels in patients with chronic renal failure.