Influence of sodium balance on uremic red blood cell ion transport.

This study was performed to test the effect of dialysis-induced acute modifications of plasma volume and sodium pool on red blood cell (RBC) ion transport in patients with end-stage renal disease. This approach confirmed the presence of an Na-K pump inhibitor in the plasma of uremic patients with extracellular fluid volume expansion. This factor cross-reacts with digoxin antibodies, and its concentration decreases during dialysis; this explains the increased activity of the RBC Na-K pump that is consistently observed during dialysis.