Liver function in dialysis patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot study to evaluate hepatic function with LiMON in dialysis patients
IRAS ID
289491
Contact name
Oscar Swift
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
People with kidney failure receiving regular dialysis (blood cleaning) treatment are commonly found to have high levels of inflammation on blood testing. The cause of this is often unexplained. It is known that high levels of inflammation in patients receiving dialysis are common and are associated with development of other long-term health conditions. This is linked to reduced quality of life and premature death in this population. As a result, this is an important area requiring further investigation for people with kidney failure receiving dialysis.
Previous research suggests that a possible source of unexplained inflammation in people with kidney failure may be increased leakage of harmful substances from the gut into the blood. This project aims to find out if, in inflamed individuals with kidney problems, the ability of the liver to clear substances from the blood is reduced. It uses a type of fluorescent dye, called indocyanine green (ICG) to assess liver function. ICG is used routinely in ophthalmology departments as part of retinal fluorescence angiography and is also an established, validated method of measuring dynamic hepatic function that has been shown to improve prognostic accuracy in patients with cirrhosis. Clearance of ICG from the blood after injection will be measured non-invasively using a finger probe monitor. This is preferential from a patient perspective because the use of multiple blood tests to measure ICG levels in the blood are not required. The time taken for ICG to be cleared from the blood will reflect dynamic liver function.
This exploratory project will measure dynamic liver function in people requiring regular dialysis treatment with evidence of persistent inflammation on blood testing. The results of dynamic liver function will be compared with other markers of liver impairment (including FibroScan assessment of the liver), fluid status, and stool markers of gut inflammation and gut leakiness.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0140
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion