[Plasma ascorbic acid in hemodialysis patients: preliminary results].

Ascorbic acid plasma concentration was investigated in 10 patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis and in 10 normal subjects. Ascorbatemia was measured by a specific enzymatic method. The mean ascorbatemia of hemodialysed patients was 0.285 +/- 0.120 mg%; in normal subjects was 0.604 +/- 0.119 mg%: the difference was statistically very significative, P less than 0.01. Moreover, the vitamin C alimentary intake was investigated in all subjects: in the controls it was constantly over 100 mg/die, but in hemodialysed patients it was nearly 40 mg/die because of their vegetable and fruit dietary restriction. It was found a positive correlation between potassium and ascorbic acid alimentary intakes. The decreased alimentary intake and the loss during dialysis can explain the low ascorbatemia of hemodialysed patients.