Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of lanthanum carbonate on calcium and phosphorus metabolism in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients treated with calcitriol pulse therapy due to secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). Methods Sixty MHD patients with SHPT were randomly divided into control group 1 and treatment group 1 (for patients with iPTH 300-600 pg/mL), and control group 2 and treatment group 2 (for patients with iPTH 600-1000 pg/mL). Patients in control group 1 were given oral calcitriol of 2μg 2 times/week and calcium carbonate 750mg 2 times/day; patients in control group 2 were given oral calcitriol of 2μg 3 times/week and calcium carbonate 750mg 2 times/day. Patients in treatment group 1 were given oral calcitriol of 2μg 2 times/week and lanthanum carbonate 500μg 3 times/day; those in treatment group 2 were given oral calcitriol of 2μg 3 times/week and lanthanum carbonate 500μg 3 times/day. Serum iPTH, calcium and phosphorus were examined in the treatment period at 4th, 8th and 12th weeks. Results Compared with the levels before treatment, serum iPTH decreased significantly (P＜0.05) and serum calcium increased significantly in the treatment period at 4th, 8th and 12th weeks in control and treatment groups. The increase of serum calcium was more in control groups using calcium carbonate than in treatment groups using lanthanum carbonate (P＜0.05). The decrease of serum phosphorus was more in treatment groups using lanthanum carbonate than in control groups using calcium carbonate, but without statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusion Lanthanum carbonate can reduce serum phosphorus level in MHD patients treated with calcitriol pulse therapy due to SHPT.

Key words: Lanthanum carbonate, Calcitriol, maintenance hemodialysis, Secondary hyperparathyroidism