Acetate and energy metabolism during hemodialysis.

The oxidation of acetate infused in acetate infused in large quantities during acetate dialysis should provide considerable energy for the hemodialysis patient. Previous attempts to measure acetate oxidation rate and thus energy yield by measuring bicarbonate generation rate are flawed because bicarbonate generation occurs by equimolar proton consumption when acetate is activated to acetyl Co-A but before acetyl Co-A has entered the Krebs cycle. Besides the Krebs cycle, acetyl Co-A could enter many other nonoxidative pathways. By using the primed continuous infusion radioisotope (1-14C acetate) dilution technique of Steele, in conjunction with indirect calorimetry, we obtained direct measurements of acetate turnover and immediate oxidation rates and energy yield in 7 stable hemodialysis patients. Commercial dialysate contained glucose (12.4 mmoles/liter), acetate (38 mmoles/liter), plus routine electrolytes. Acetate turnover was 57.2 +/- 2.9 mumoles/min X kg. Of the acetate entering the body, 31.6 +/- 3.8 mumoles/min X kg were immediately oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, which accounted for 54.4 +/- 5.2% of the turnover rate. The amount that entered the blood was 869 mmoles, and 472 mmoles (54.4%) were oxidized; 138 mmoles (15.8%) made up the steady-state pool, and 258 mmoles were directed into nonoxidative pathways (29.7%). During dialysis, 40.3 +/- 4.8% of the carbon dioxide output or metabolic rate was accounted for by acetate oxidation. Thus, acetate emerged as the major contributor to energy production, supplying up to 65% of the total caloric needs during dialysis. The RQ calculated from the lung carbon dioxide excretion was 0.74 +/- 0.01.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)