الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 162 |  |  |
| | | from | 162 | | |
Abstract
Chronic renal failure is a global public health problem with a rising prevalence. Inflammation is very common in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing regular hemodialysis and is by far a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients.
As an important antioxidant, vitamin C was prominently consumed because of oxidative stress and inflammation in patients on dialysis, which could cause low vitamin C level.
This work was designed to study the relationship between plasma vitamin C and some inflammatory markers in patients on regular hemodialysis (RHD).
This study was conducted on eighty patients, were known as ESRD on MHD for more than three months (Dialysis group) in Hemodialysis Unit of Internal Medicine department Menoufia University Hospital, Egypt and eighty healthy volunteers (control group).
The following patients were excluded from the study:
Patients who are currently using steroids or immune suppressants.
Patients who had positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Serology.
Patients who had any kind of acute infection within one month.
Patients with heart failure.
Patients who are taking vitamin c supplementation.
Patients who had autoimmune disease or malignancy.
Summary
117
All participants were thoroughly interrogated and examined clinically and were subjected to complete blood count, kidney function tests and serum electrolytes, serum albumin, AST,ALT, FBS, PPBS, ca, phosphorous, vitamin C, CRP, ESR, ferritin, uric acid and assessment of adequacy of HD.
According to the vitamin C plasma level results the dialysis group was divided into group(a) included 18 patients (22.5%) with plasma vitamin C level < 4 ug/ml and group(b) included 62 patients (77.5%) with plasma vitamin C level > 4 ug/ml.
Results of the study demonstrated that systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in dialysis patients compared to control group, also hemoglobin and platelets were significantly lower in patients compared to control group while total leucocytic count was significantly higher in cases compared to control group.
Serum calcium was significantly lower in patients than control group, on the other hand the phosphorous and potassium level were higher in patients than in control group.
Plasma vitamin C level was highly significantly lower in hemodialysis patients compared to control group.
As regard inflammatory markers there were high levels of CRP, ESR and ferritin and low levels of serum albumin in hemodialysis patients compared to control group.
Hemodialysis patients with low vitamin C serum level were found to have high levels of CRP, ESR and ferritin with low levels of serum albumin. On the other hand patients with normal vitamin C serum
Summary
118
level were found to have low levels of CRP, ESR and ferritin with high levels of serum albumin.
In hemodialysis patients plasma vitamin C level was positively correlated with serum albumin and negatively correlated with each of CRP and ESR with no significant correlation founded with ferritin.