Hatanaka Y, et al. - Given that the risk of carnitine deficiency has been reported in patients on hemodialysis (HD), researchers examined 150 patients on dialysis to determine the prevalence of carnitine deficiency. They also compared the chances of attenuation in the serum carnitine level on HD vs on hemodiafiltration (HDF). A serum free carnitine level < 20 μmol/L defined carnitine deficiency, and an acyl/free carnitine ratio > 0.4 defined carnitine insufficiency; the prevalence of which were 25.3 and 86.7%, respectively. Patients at high risk of carnitine deficiency accounted for 64.7%. Overall, high prevalence rates of carnitine deficiency and carnitine insufficiency were detected in patients on dialysis. With HDF vs with HD, a greater serum carnitine reduction rate was observed.