Prevalence of Hyperuricemia in Thrice Weekly Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Background: Hyperuricemia is a well-established prognostic marker for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Therefore, in this study, our aim was to determine the prevalence of hyperuricemia in thrice-weekly hemodialysis patients at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that included consecutive patients diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance thrice-weekly hemodialysis (HD). Based on serum urate concentrations, hyperuricemia was labeled in male patients with > 7 mg/dL, and in female patients, the threshold value was >6 mg/dL. Results: The study included a total of 73 thrice-weekly hemodialysis patients out of which 64.4% (47) were male and mean age of the study sample was 50.3 ± 12.1 years. Hyperuricemia was observed in 76.7% (56) of the patients. Females (41.1% vs. 17.6%), diabetes (46.4% vs. 23.5%), and glomerulonephritis (5.4% vs. 0%) were relatively more common among patients with hyperuricemia than non- hyperuricemia patients, respectively. Similarly, severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (75% vs. 35.3%), severe mitral regurgitation (14.3% vs. 5.9%), and severe tricuspid regurgitation (12.5% vs. 5.9%) were relatively more common among patients with hyperuricemia than non- hyperuricemia patients, respectively. Conclusion: Hyperuricemia was prevalent in more than 3/4th of the thrice-weekly hemodialysis patients. Females, diabetics, glomerulonephritis, severe LV dysfunction with mitral regurgitation (severe) and tricuspid regurgitation (severe) were relatively more common among hyperuricemic patients.