**2. CKD – MBD and biochemical abnormalities**

The initial evaluation of CKD-MBD should include laboratory for calcium (it has been proposed either ionized or total corrected for albumin), phosphorus, PTH, alkaline phosphatases (total or bone specific), bicarbonate, as well as imaging for soft-tissue calcification. Epidemiologic studies from the early 1990s have demonstrated that an increase in serum phosphorus and in calcium x phosphorus product are associated with poor outcomes in CKD patients. The association of elevated serum phosphorus and calcium and increased mortality in these patients has been confirmed in several recent studies. If inconsistencies exist in the biochemical markers (eg, high PTH but low alkaline phosphatases), unexplained bone pain, or unexplained fractures are present, a bone biopsy would be strongly indicated (London and Drueke, 1997; London *et al., 2003;* Neves et al., 2007; Bucay et al., 1998).

#### **2.1 Calcium**

Serum calcium is tightly controlled in healthy individuals, within a narrow range, usually 2.2–2.6 mmol/l, with a minimal, diurnal variation. In patients with CKD, serum calcium levels fluctuate more, because of altered homeostasis and concomitant therapies. Serum calcium levels are routinely measured in clinical laboratories using colorimetric methods in automated machines. In patients with CKD stage 5D, there are additional fluctuations in association with dialysis-induced changes, hemoconcentration, and subsequent hemodilution. Moreover, predialysis samples collected from dialysis patients after the longer interdialytic interval during the weekend, as compared with predialysis samples drawn after the shorter interdialytic intervals during the week, often contain higher serum calcium levels (Tentori et al., 2008). It has been shown that the serum calcium level is a poor reflection of overall total body calcium. Only 1% of total body calcium is measurable in the extracellular compartment while the most important part of calcium is stored in the bones. Serum ionized calcium, generally 40–50% of total serum calcium, is physiologically active, while non-ionized calcium is bound to albumin or anions such as citrate, bicarbonate, and phosphate, and is therefore not physiologically active. In the presence of hypoalbuminemia, there is an increase in ionized calcium relative to total calcium; thus, total serum calcium may underestimate the physiologically active (ionized) serum calcium. The most commonly used formula for estimating ionized calcium from total calcium is the addition of 0.2 mmol/l for every 1 g decrease in serum albumin below 40 g/l. Unfortunately, recent data have shown that it offers no superiority over total calcium alone and is less specific than ionized calcium measurements. In addition, the assay used for albumin may affect the corrected calcium measurement.
