Hyperoxalemia in renal failure and the role of hemoperfusion and hemodialysis in primary oxalosis.

Measurement of oxalate levels in 14 patients with chronic renal failure, treated by maintenance hemodialysis, revealed elevated plasma oxalate concentrations in all patients 1,075.7 +/- (SEM) 253 micrograms/dl. In 7 of these subjects the oxalate concentration was more than three times higher than the upper limit of normal. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation (r = 0.75) between serum creatinine and plasma oxalate concentration was found. A combination of hemodialysis and hemoperfusion procedure was carried out in a dialysis patient with primary oxalosis as a cause of renal failure. The average oxalate clearance of the hemodialyzer during seven hemodialysis/hemoperfusion procedures was 91 ml/min and that of the charcoal detoxifier was 24 ml/min. The amount of oxalate removed during 4 1/2 h of the hemodialysis/hemoperfusion procedure was 429 mg. This amount was calculated to be produced in about 87 h, with an oxalate generation rate of 4.9 mg/h.