Ultrasound bone velocity and metacarpal radiogrametry in hemodialyzed patients

Bone density measurements based on the rate of propagation of ultrasound waves provide information on bone elasticity, which is largely dependent on cortical bone structure. Both bone density and cortical bone present variations dependent on age and sex. As far as we know, bone elasticity in patients on hemodialysis has not been studied, so we used ultrasound bone velocity and metacarpal radiogrametry to study 23 adult patients with end-stage renal disease. The patients' results were compared with those of a group of 23 healthy subjects matched by age and sex. The measurements obtained by both ultrasound bone velocity and metacarpal radiogrametry were lower in hemodialyzed patients (p < 0.025) than in controls and there was a good correlation between the two measurements (r2 = 0.561; p < 0.0007). Neither of the measurements correlated with age or time on dialysis. These results show that bone elasticity in dialyzed patients is diminished, which could be an important factor in the bone lesions of these patients.