Fifty-nine patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing long-term dialysis were studied prospectively for joint disease. Radiographic assessment allowed division of patients into 3 groups: group 1 included 12 patients with renal osteodystrophy and erosions of the metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, distal interphalangeal, shoulder, wrist, and knee joints; group 2 had 11 patients with renal osteodystrophy without articular erosions; group 3 included 36 patients without osteodystrophy or erosions. Clinical manifestations were frequent in patients of group 1 and included episodes of arthralgias of the metacarpophalangeal, wrist, proximal interphalangeal, and knee joints. Patients of groups 1 and 2, particularly those of group 1, had a longer mean duration of dialysis and a higher mean serum alkaline phosphatase level compared with group 3 patients. The study indicates that there is a relatively high incidence (20%) of erosive arthropathy in dialysis patients. Renal osteodystrophy, more specifically, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and duration of dialysis are important factors in the development of this articular disorder. A number of skeletal and articular abnormalities have been described in patients with chronic renal failure who were undergoing maintenance dialysis (1-4). Included among these are changes of renal osteodystrophy (secondary hyperparathyroidism, osteomalacia, osteosclerosis, and osteoporosis), periarticular calcifications, ischemic osteonecrosis, and crystalinduced arthritis (1-4).Recently, an erosive arthritis of the hands and wrists has been reported in patients with renal failure and secondary hyperparathyroidism (5-8). In order to determine the prevalence and significance of these osteoarticular abnormalities, we conducted a clinical, radiographic, and laboratory study of 59 patients with end-stage renal disease w h o were undergoing maintenance dialysis.
PATIENTS AND METHODSFifty-nine consecutive patients with chronic renal failure who were undergoing maintenance dialysis at Sunnybrook Medical Centre between 1979 and 1982 were studied.There were 38 men and 21 women, with a mean age of 54.5 years (range 24-79). Forty-one patients were being treated by hemodialysis, and 18 were being treated by peritoneal dialysis. The renal failure etiologies included 19 patients with glomerulonephritis, 12 with hypertensive nephropathy, 9 with polycystic kidney diseass.,? with chronic pyelonephritis, 2 with Alport's syndrome, 2 with obstructive uropathy, and 8 with etiology unknown. None of the patients had clinical or serologic evidence of a systemic disorder or a generalized connective tissue disease known to be associated with a rheumatic syndrome, e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, etc.Rheumatologic evaluations were conducted by 2 assessors (LAR and AGF) on every patient at study entry and, subsequently, on those who developed joint symptoms. Particular attention was directed to the presence of joint