The Accuracy of High Resolution Ultrasound Imaging for Detection of Secondary Hyperparathyroidism in Hemodialysis Patients

Background/Objective: Ultrasound is one of the preferred modalities for the evaluation of parathyroid glands. This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of high resolution ultrasound for secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic renal failure."nPatients and Methods: From March 2008 to March 2009, 91 hemodialysis patients were examined by high-resolution ultrasound (14 MHz) of the parathyroid glands in comparison to parathyroid hormone level."nResults: In 40/91 (43.9%) patients, sonography showed enlarged parathyroid glands with an average of 8.7 mm. The mean parathyroid hormone level of patients with enlarged parathyroid glands on sonography was 503±450.031 pg/ml. We revealed a significant difference between the parathyroid hormone level and enlarged parathyroid glands (p=0.0001). Sensitivity and specificity of sonography for the detection of secondary hyperparathyroidism were 62.5% and 85.7%, respectively."nConclusion: This study showed that high-resolution sonography is a useful noninvasive method for the evaluation of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients on hemodialysis and that sonographically enlarged glands may be a measure of the severity of secondary hyperparathyroidism."nKeywords: High Resolution Ultrasound, Secondary Hyperparathyroidism, Chronic Renal Failure, Hemodialysi