Association between low serum prealbumin levels and carpal tunnel syndrome in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Aims: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and low serum prealbumin concentration are common in maintenance hemodialysis patients. In this study, we focused on the association between low serum prealbumin levels and carpal tunnel syndrome in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients using low-flux dialysis reuse.

Materials And Methods: Serum prealbumin levels were assessed to determine the association between low serum prealbumin levels and CTS in 373 prevalent MHD patients (the mean age was 45 years old, hemodialysis duration was 46 months). The patients were divided into 2 groups: the CTS group with 44 patients and the non-CTS group with 329 patients.

Results: The prevalence of CTS was 11.8%. Serum prealbumin showed a good prognostic value to predict CTS in MHD patients using low-flux dialysis reuse (the Area Under the Curve = 0.841,  < .001; cutoff value: 26.5 mg/dL with sensitivity = 72.7% and specificity = 79.9%).

Conclusions: Serum prealbumin was a good prognostic biomarker of CTS in MHD patients using low-flux dialysis reuse.