[Plasma calcium in haemodialysis patients: total calcium or ionized calcium? Should we systematically provide a value of total corrected calcium on our protocols?].

Ionized calcium is the only physiologically active form of calcium. Because of the variation of albumin, pH and haemoconcentration observed during haemodialysis session in patients with chronic renal failure, measure of total calcium does not reflect the real variation of ionized calcium. However, many formulae to correct total calcium by albumin have been proposed but none of them has been validated in dialysis patients. At present time, computing progress permit laboratory to systematically provide a value of corrected total calcium on protocols but is it really indicated? Our results showed that any of those formulae allows obtaining a value of total calcium that possesses a significant critical difference in relation to total calcium. Thus, correction formulae must be abandoned in aid of ionized calcium in haemodialysis patients.