Total and bone-specific alkaline phosphatases in haemodialysis patients with chronic liver disease

Objective: The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes "KDIGO" recommends regular sampling of bone turnover markers (BTMs) such as total alkaline phosphatases (t-ALP) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (b-ALP) in the case of haemodialysis (HD) patients. Design and methods: We present our results of the regular assessment of t-ALP, b-ALP, and PTH, obtained for existing HD patients with chronic liver disease (LD). Results: 76 prevalent HD patients were examined. Linear regression showed that b-ALP and t-ALP levels were closely related (r(2): 0.6; p<0.0001), even when the serum PTH level was <250 pg/mL (r(2): 0.56; p<0.001). The b-ALP/t-ALP ratio was 0.07 +/- 0.12 and correlated poorly with PTH levels (r(2): 0.03; p = 0.01). Both b-ALP and t-ALP levels did not correlated with PTH levels. Conclusion: Our results did not confirm the KDIGO recommendation for using b-ALP as BTM in the special cases of HD patients with LDs. (C) 2012 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.