Clinical usefulness of serum carboxyterminal propeptide of procollagen I and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase determinations to evaluate bone turnover in patients with chronic renal failure

We have studied the levels of the biochemical markers of bone formation total serum alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin (BGP) and carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), the levels of the biochemical marker of bone resorption serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and those of intact immunoreactive PTH (iPTH) in 30 patients at different stages of chronic renal failure (CRF), all of them without verifiable hepatopathy, and in 9 patients in hemodialysis with hepatopathy measured by the Knodell index. Sixteen control subjects were also studied. In the group of patients with CRF with or without hepatopathy, the levels of biochemical markers of bone turnover were significantly elevated with respect to those of control patients