Patients surving more than 10 years of hemodialysis and their special aspects of parathyroidectomy and carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract

Of the 288 patients who began hemodialysis treatment between January 1966 and December 1973, 108 died and 64 were transferred to other facilities. One handred and eleven survivors for more than 10 years were reviewed.
The cumulative survival rate was 60.7% for five years, 53.9% for 10 years and 46.1% for more than 10 years.
The main causes of the death were cardiac failure (25%), cerebrovascular disease (15.7%), sepsis (12.0%), pericarditis (11.1%), hepatitis (9.3%) respectively.
Parathyroidectomy (PTX) was performed in 19 cases, representing 12% of the patients surviving more than 10 years. Approximately 15-20% of those patients might need PTX.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was recognized in 37 out of 216 patients, and it showed an increasing rate of appearance during long-term dialysis. Eight patients with severe CTS dialyzed for more than 12 years underwent successful surgery. Trigger fingers were frequently associated with CTS. Amyloid deposition was revealed in all eight cases.