Relationship between serum intact parathyroid hormone and pruritus in hemodialysis patients

Pruritus is one of the most common cutaneous complications in hemodialysis patients. There is no consensus on etiologic and pathologic factors. This study is aimed to evaluate the correlation between serum intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) level and the severity of pruritus in hemodialysis patients.

In a cross-sectional study, all of the patients referred to hemodialysis center of two hospitals in Sari, Iran, were primarily examined by a dermatologist and those who had no pathologic findings were included in the study. Serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, albumin, creatinine, and intact PTH were measured and evaluated against the pruritus scores.

A total of 153 patients were studied of whom 52.3% (n = 80) were men. The prevalence of pruritus and hyperparathyroidism were 61.4% and 60.7%, respectively, and these were not significantly different between men and women. There was a significant difference in the mean itching score between the patents with and without hyperparathyroidism (5.71 +/- 5.39 and 4.93 +/- 2.93, respectively; P = .005). Serum intact PTH level correlated with itching score in this population (r = 0.294, P < .001), while no correlations were found between itching score and other laboratory parameters.

Our study showed that intact PTH level is correlated to the severity of pruritus in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, control of hyperparathyroidism in hemodialysis patients is very important to overcome pruritus.