Abstract: Objectives  To investigate the clinical efficacy of Paricalcitol in the treatment of maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), and to analyze the correlation between iPTH level and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) score.  Methods   A total of 40 MHD patients (24 males and 16 females) with SHPT and received regular hemodialysis at the Hemodialysis Clinic of Beijing Haidian Hospital from April 2019 to June 2020 were included in the study. Intravenous Paricalcitol was administered for 12 weeks in addition to the MHD. AAC score and serum calcium, phosphorus and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were compared before and after Paricalcitol treatment for 12 weeks to assess its clinical efficacy. The relationship between iPTH level and AAC was assessed after the treatment for 12 months.  Results After Paricalcitol treatment for 12 weeks, serum phosphorus and iPTH levels were significantly lower than those before treatment (phosphorus: t=2.192, P=0.047; iPTH: t=3.026, P=0.014); serum calcium was higher than that before treatment (t=4.188, P=0.001), but remained within the normal range (2.1～2.5 mmol/L); the overall effective rate of lowering serum iPTH was 95%. Patients with severe AAC had higher serum iPTH, while those with moderate to mild AAC had relatively lower serum iPTH; the differences in serum iPTH among the severe, moderate and mild AAC groups were statistically significant (F=150.400, P＜0.001). After the treatment for 12 months, AAC scores were lower than the baseline levels, but the score differences had no statistical significance (t=0.504, P=0.617).  Conclusions  Paricalcitol significantly reduced serum iPTH and phosphate levels in MHD patients, and calcium level remained stable within the normal range. Severe AAC may relate to the higher serum iPTH in MHD patients.

Key words: Hemodialysis patient, Secondary hyperparathyroidism, Paricalcitol, Abdominal aortic calcification