TIBIAL ULTRASOUND EVALUATION OF BONE DENSITY IN DIALYZED PATIENTS

End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are at risk of having low bone density (BD) due to disease related and general risk factors. This study was to designed to assess the cortical BD and risk factors, by tibial ultrasound evaluation, in dialysis patients. We included 40 ESRD patients and 37 healthy subjects with matched properties for osteopenia. Tibial ultrasound velocity (TUV) and t score were investigated by Soundscan 2000 device. ESRD patients had lower TUV and t score than control subjects(p=0.001). BD did not change between hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients. Serum iPTH levels and dialysis duration negatively correlated with SOS and t scores. No such correlation was found out for age, BMI and heparin exposure. Cortical BD lessens and quality deteriorates increasing probability of fractures in cortical bone in dialysed patients.