Effects of levocarnitine combined with maintenance hemodialysis on inflammatory factors levels and cardiac function in patients with chronic kidney disease

Feng Ji; Sun Yibing; Liu Shuting; Liu Yueying; Zhao Dongxia; Huang Xiaomeng

doi:10.3760/j.issn.1673-4777.2025.07.016

Abstract：Objective To explore the effects of levocarnitine combined with maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)on inflammatory factors levels and cardiac function in patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD).Methods A total of 106 CKD patients treated with dialysis in the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University from June 2022 to September 2023 were prospectively selected as the research objects.According to the random number table method,they were divided into the control group and the observation group,with 53 cases in each group.The control group was treated with MHD,and the observation group was treated with levocarnitine combined with MHD.Both groups were treated for 3 months.The levels of inflammatory factors,renal function,cardiac function,Klotho protein and irisin before and after treatment were compared between the two groups,and the correlation between the levels of inflammatory factors and cardiac function indexes was analyzed.Results The improvement of C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),brain natriuretic peptide,cardiac output,Klotho protein and irisin levels in the observation group were better than those in the control group 3 months after treatment(all P＜0.05).At the same time,the levels of blood uric acid,blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine in the observation group were lower than those in the control group at 1 month and 3 months after treatment(all P＜0.05).Pearson analysis showed that CRP was positively correlated with brain natriuretic peptide(all P＜0.05).TNF-α was negatively correlated with LVEF and cardiac output,and positively correlated with brain natriuretic peptide(all P＜0.05).IL-6 was negatively correlated with LVEF and cardiac output,and positively correlated with brain natriuretic peptide(all P＜0.05).The incidence of complications during dialysis in the observation group was lower than that in the control group[3.8％(2/53)vs 15.1％(8/53)](P=0.046).Conclusion Levocarnitine combined with MHD treatment in patients with CKD can better improve the inflammatory state,reduce the cardiac load,and reduce the incidence of dialysis-related complications.