Iron overload and osteoarthropathy in long-term hemodialysis patients

Of the patients who had undergone hemodialysis for 10 or more years, 20 (31%) showed excessive iron due to multiple blood transfusions and excessive oral and parenteral iron administration. A group with excessive iron (20 cases) and one without excessive iron (44 cases) were compared in order to study the relationship between excessive iron administration and osteoarthropathy. In the former group, all 20 patients had serum ferritin concentrations, of 1, 000ng/ml or higher, and 19 cases showed 150μg/dl or higher serum iron concentrations. In this group, the incidence of a carpal tunnel syndrome and pathologic fracture was significantly higher than in the latter group (p