Clinical Study Long-Term and Short-Term Effects of Hemodialysis on Liver Function Evaluated Using the Galactose Single-Point Test

Copyright © 2014 Yi-Chou Hou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Aim. The galactose single-point (GSP) test assesses functioning liver mass by measuring the galactose concentration in the blood 1 hour after its administration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of hemodialysis (HD) on short-term and long-term liver function by use of GSP test. Methods. Seventy-four patients on maintenance HD (46 males and 28 females, 60.38 ± 11.86 years) with a mean time on HD of 60.77 ± 48.31 months were studied. The GSP values were compared in two groups: (1) before and after single session HD, and (2) after one year of maintenance HD. Results. Among the 74 HD patient, only the post-HD Cr levels and years on dialysis were significantly correlated with GSP values