INTRODUCTION. It has been shown that
inflammation affects thyroid function. In patients with
end-stage renal disease, low plasma
triiodothyronine (T3) may be an unsuspected expression of the inflammatory state of these patients. This study evaluated the correlation between T3 and
high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (
HSCRP) levels in patients on
peritoneal dialysis (PD) and
hemodialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This is a cross-sectional study aiming at the correlation between T3 and
HSCRP levels among 30 patients on PD, 30 patients on
hemodialysis, and 20 healthy individuals. Serum levels of
HSCRP, T3,
thyroxine (T4),
thyroid stimulating hormone, T3 resin uptake, and free T3 index (FT3I) and free T4 index (FT4I) were compared between the three groups. RESULTS. There were no significant differences between
hemodialysis and PD patients in respect to T3, T4, FT3I, and FT4I. In PD and
hemodialysis patients, T3 and FT3I were lower than in controls (P < .001), but there was no significant difference between PD and
hemodialysis patients. T3 resin uptake and
thyroid stimulating hormone differed significantly between PD and
hemodialysis patients. There was a significant inverse correlation between
HSCRP and T3 and FT3I among
hemodialysis patients (P = .04); however, there was no such correlations in PD patients. CONCLUSIONS. The relationship between T3 and
HSCRP suggests that
inflammation might be involved in the
low T3 syndrome in
hemodialysis patients, but we did not find a significant correlation between T3 and
HSCRP levels in patients on
peritoneal dialysis.