Chorea in Hemodialysis Patients: Report of Two Cases

Chorea is rare in maintenance dialysis patients but seriously affects the quality of life, and there are few previous reports of this condition. We report two patients undergoing regular hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease, both of whom presented with progressively intensified involuntary limb movements, but originating from different etiologies.

We report two patients undergoing regular hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease who presented with progressively intensified involuntary limb movements. Treatment with sedatives alone proved ineffective in both cases. Through differential diagnosis, one patient was diagnosed with diabetic striatopathy and managed with intensive glycemic control, while the other was found to have uremic metabolic encephalopathy and treated with a combination of hemodialysis and hemoperfusion. Subsequently the patients' symptoms improved significantly.

Choreiform movements in hemodialysis patients arise from a variety of etiologies. These two cases suggested the susceptibility to the onset of chorea in the early stage of maintenance hemodialysis.