Musculoskeletal manifestations in hemodialysis patients

One hundred and two consecutive patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis were interviewed and examined to analyze their musculoskeletal problems. Radiographic abnormalities of renal osteodystrophy were found in 23 and there were periarticular calcifications in 5. Only one patient had apatite associated knee arthritis and none had gout or calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease. Twenty patients had arthralgias, 3 polyarthritis, and 4 knee effusions all of which were incompletely explained. Correlations of arthralgias with radiographic findings was poor. Muscle cramps were seen in 24 patients, multiple fractures in one, symmetrical distal neuropathy in 18, and carpal tunnel syndrome in 9.