Dialysis-associated arthropathy: a multicentre survey of 171 patients receiving haemodialysis for over 10 years. The Co-operative Group on Dialysis-associated Arthropathy.

In order to determine the prevalence of dialysis-associated arthropathy (DAA) and what factors favour its development, we conducted a survey in 19 centres in northeastern France, of all patients receiving haemodialysis for over 10 years (171). A diagnosis of DAA was made in 84 patients (49%) by two investigators, using as criteria single or combined presence of carpal tunnel syndrome (32%), erosions and bone cysts of the large limb joints (33%) and destructive spondylarthropathy (14%). The 84 patients with DAA were compared with the 87 dialysis patients free of these clinical or radiological abnormalities. The affected patients were significantly older at the start of dialysis than unaffected patients. The risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome increased with the duration of dialysis. Amyloid deposits were found in carpal tunnel tissue obtained from 24 of the 39 operated patients (62%) during surgery. Destructive spondylarthropathy was significantly associated with the presence of disc calcifications and more frequent in AN 69-treated patients in whom secondary hyperparathyroidism appeared to be more severe. The use of an AN 69 membrane for at least 90% of the dialysis period (in 15 patients) was not associated with a lower prevalence of DAA. We found that after 10 years of haemodialysis DAA occurred whatever type of membrane was used and the prevalence increased with the patient's age and the duration of dialysis.