Serum electrolytes and blood urea nitrogen changes in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing contemporary...

Correction of electrolyte imbalance and adequate haemodialysis (HD) minimizes disease complications and hospitalization. Despite the problem, there is a paucity of data regarding the assessment of serum electrolytes and blood urea nitrogen changes (BUN) in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing contemporary HD in Ethiopia.

The objective of this study was to assess serum electrolytes and BUN changes in patients with End-Stage Renal Disease undergoing contemporary HD in Ethiopia.

A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1 to August 10, 2021. The levels of serum electrolytes and BUN before and immediately after HD were measured using an ion-selective electrode and a spectrophotometry analyzer, respectively. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics were performed for descriptive variables, and continuous variables were compared as the mean ± SD using a paired t-test. Pearson's correlation coefficient with a 95 % confidence level was used to measure the strength of the association. P-values < 0.05 were declared statistically significant.

The mean ± SD age of the participants was 44.19 ± 15.25 years. The mean ± SD duration of HD was 1.71 ± 1.65 years, and 52 (72.2 %) patients received dialysis twice per week. Compared with immediate postdialysis concentration, a statistically significant decrease was noted for potassium (1.74 ± 1.11 mmol/L, p < 0.001), magnesium (0.42 ± 0.35 mmol/L, p < 0.001), phosphorus (0.62 ± 0.49 mmol/L, p < 0.001), and BUN (31.9 ± 10.4 mmol/L, p < 0.001). This study showed that 43 (59.7 %) end-stage renal disease patients received adequate HD.

This study found a significant decrease in serum potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and BUN following dialysis. The urea reduction ratio revealed a minimum adequate HD session among end-stage renal disease patients on maintenance haemodialysis (MHD).