LAUSR

This is an observational study to assess effectiveness of paricalcitol for treating secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) patients with long-term maintenance hemodialysis, via changes in biochemical indexes, such as Calcium (Ca), Phosphate (P) and Parathyroid Hormone (PTH), and size of parathyroid gland (PG). This single-centre and small sample study included 11 Long-term maintenance hemodialysis patients with SHPT, who were undergoing SHPT treatment with paricalcitol in the Blood Purification Centre of Fengdu people’s hospital, Chongqing, China, from December 2018 to October 2019. We collected biochemical indexes including Ca, P and iPTH, and imaging parameters of PG via ultrasonography (volume and number), evaluating variations between baseline and Month 11 of post-treatment. Compared to baseline, the maximum diameter lines (Fig 1) of PG decreased significantly (mean 15.727 mm vs 10.936 mm, P=0.005) after 11 months’ treatment, though the minimum diameter lines (Fig 2) decreased without statistical difference (mean 6.727 mm vs 5.255 mm, P=0.089). The number of glands was less in Month 11 than that of baseline (mean 2.455 vs 2.182, P=0.277) and iPTH declined significantly (mean 1045.109 pg/ml vs 610.934 pg/ml, P=0.001). The overall effective rate of paricalcitol was 90.9% after 11 months’ treatment. Moreover, there were no significant changes in serum calcium and phosphorus levels during the whole treatment. Intravenous paricalcitol can decrease the size and number of parathyroid gland, and reduce iPTH concentrations in SHPT patients with Long-term maintenance hemodialysis, without significant influence for serum Ca and P levels.