[Plasma B12 vitamin and folic acid during chronic renal failure and hemodialysis (author's transl)].

Thirty-one patients suffering from very advanced degrees of chronic renal insufficiency were studied. Ten received a hypoproteic diet as the only treatment and the remaining 21 were on a program of hemodialysis with a free diet and no vitamin supplements. Basal and pre- and post-dialysis plasma determinations of B12 vitamin and folic acid were carried out on them. Looking at the results it was verified that there was a significant reduction in the plasma values of both B12 vitamin and folic acid in the cases of low protein intake. In dialysis we saw that although folic acid was lost during sessions the free dietetic intake was enough to compensate for these losses. As for B12 vitamin, although it is described as dialyzable, we did not observe that its post-dialysis values disminished. Our conclusions indicate that a supplementary vitamin contribution is not necessary for patients who are on a program of hemodialysis.