[Serum myoglobin levels in patients with acute and chronic renal insufficiency]

The serum level of myoglobin was studied in 20 patients with acute renal failure, in 16 chronic renal failure patients and in 94 patients on maintenance haemodialysis. The serum myoglobin level was significantly increased in the oligoanuric phase of acute renal failure, rapidly decreased during diuretic phase and attained apparently normal values in the recovery phase. In patients with chronic renal failure the serum myoglobin level correlated with serum creatinine and creatinine clearance as a measure of the glomerular filtration rate, indicating a major role of kidney in the metabolism of this low-molecular weight protein. It was established that myoglobin could not be removed by dialysis membrane and analysis of the myoglobin level in endstage kidney disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis has shown an important extrarenal catabolism of this protein.