Reduction of oxidative stress and CRP levels in hemodialysis patients by hydrogen gas inhalation
Sokawa S, Matsuura A, Suga Y, Sokawa Y, Kojima T, Nakamura H. · Journal of Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy. 2021;54(9):433–441.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Uncontrolled before-during-after pilot study
Kidney and urinary health
Inhaled H₂
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Adults receiving maintenance hemodialysis.
6 patients were characterized at baseline; the hydrogen intervention analysis included 5 with elevated oxidative stress.
Six dialysis sessions over 2 weeks, with follow-up after inhalation stopped.
Hydrogen inhalation started 5–10 minutes before dialysis and continued until 5–10 minutes after dialysis for six consecutive sessions over 2 weeks.
High-purity H₂ gas alone — not Brown's gas.
99.99% H₂ at 500 mL/min through a nasal route.
499.95 mL/min H₂, calculated from 500 mL/min total source-gas flow × 99.99% H₂.
No supplemental O₂ was reported; 0.01% non-H₂ remainder was not identified and is not assumed to be oxygen.
Participants' own pre-intervention and post-withdrawal measurements; no parallel control group.
Outcomes and reported result
d-ROMs oxidative-stress measure, biological antioxidant potential, CRP and dialysis parameters.
Mean d-ROMs decreased from 433 to 395 U.CARR and CRP from 1.05 to 0.61 mg/dL during inhalation; values later reached 349 U.CARR and 0.42 mg/dL after cessation. Antioxidant capacity did not show a confirmed effect.
The complete free J-STAGE full article, Japanese methods, figures and English abstract were checked.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Only five treated patients, no parallel control and repeated measurements. Continued changes after withdrawal make causal attribution uncertain. The article does not establish clinical benefit or improved dialysis outcomes.
Maintenance hemodialysis patients in this small Japanese pilot.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
OpenAlex ID: W3204512112 · DOI: 10.4009/jsdt.54.433
Free full article on J-STAGE.
J-STAGE publisher full article; full-text extraction checked 8 August 2026.
2026-08-10