Introduction: The water soluble vitamins B1, B2 and B6 are essential precursors for a wide variety of coenzymes involved in intermediary metabolism. Recent evidence suggests that the systemic inflammatory response associated with disease, injury and infection may lower micronutrient concentrations in plasma independent of tissue stores. Elective knee arthroplasty surgery has been shown to induce a significant and reproducible systemic inflammatory response and therefore provides an ideal model with which to examine the relationship between plasma and erythrocyte (intracellular) concentrations of B-vitamins and the evolution of the systemic inflammatory response.

Methods: The study was approved by the local ethics committee. All subjects were informed of the purpose and procedure of the study and all gave consent. Venous blood samples (EDTA) were withdrawn pre-operatively from 12 primary knee arthroplasty patients and at 12, 24, 48, 72 and 168 hours after the start of surgery. Analysis of plasma and red cell vitamins B1, B2, B6, C-reactive protein and albumin. Data presented as median and range. Data from different time periods were tested for statistical significance using the Freidman test and where appropriate comparisons of data from different time periods were carried out using the Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Results: All patients were over the age of 60 years and had circulating concentrations of B vitamins in the normal range (B1 275–675ng TDP/g Hb; B2 220–410nmol/l; B6 17–135nmol/l). On analysis of serial postoperative values over the study period 0–168hrs there were significant increases in C-reactive protein and significant decreases in albumin concentrations peaking/troughing at 48hrs returning towards normal concentrations at 7 days (p< 0.001). In contrast, during this period plasma albumin (p< 0.001), B2 (p< 0.001) and B6 (p< 0.001) concentrations fell transiently by as much as 50% returning towards normal in parallel with the fall in C-reactive protein concentrations. In contrast, neither red cell B2 nor B6 concentrations fell during the study period.

Conclusions: In this study red blood cell B2 and B6 remained stable over the period of study. In contrast, plasma concentrations of B2 and B6 fell and were outwith the normal range, the trough coinciding with the peak of C-reactive protein before returning to baseline values. These results are consistent with the concept that plasma concentrations of vitamins are unlikely to be a reliable measure of status in patients with evidence of a systemic inflammatory response. Red cell B1, B2 and B6 concentrations more accurately reflect status in patients with evidence of a systemic inflammatory response.