The Prognostic Role of Serum β-Trace Protein Levels among Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

Abstract

Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are the most commonly encountered etiology of mortality in patients having kidney failure. β-Trace protein (BTP) is a biomarker of glomerular filtration function as well as a potential predictor of adverse CV outcomes. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of BTP in patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD). A total of 96 patients undergoing HD were enrolled. Baseline variables were collected, and the patients were tracked for 3 years. Twenty-five patients died at 3 years. Those who experienced mortality were noted to have higher serum concentrations of BTP and a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for serum BTP distinguishing mortality from survival was 0.659 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.555–0.752; p = 0.027). After the adjustment of variables potentially affecting survival rates, BTP levels above the median (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 2.913, 95% CI, 1.256–6.754; p = 0.013), the presence of DM (aHR: 2.474, 95% CI, 1.041–5.875; p = 0.040), and low serum albumin (aHR: 0.298, 95% CI, 0.110–0.806; p = 0.017) independently correlated with survival in HD patients. Serum BTP is a novel biomarker for predicting overall outcomes in HD patients.