Paricalcitol decreases intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels in children receiving hemodialysis while not causing significant changes in serum calcium, phosphorus, or Ca x P product values, a study found.
Researchers randomized 29 subjects aged 5 to 19 years to receive either paricalcitol or placebo for up to 12 weeks. They monitored the groups for two consecutive 30% decreases from baseline in iPTH levels and evaluated the safety of paricalcitol.
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Sixty percent of the paricalcitol group had two consecutive 30% decreases from baseline iPTH levels compared with 21% in the placebo group, a nonsignificant difference between the groups, the investigators reported in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (2007;49:814-823).
The paricalcitol group had a mean decrease in iPTH level of 164 pg/mL, which was significantly different from the increase of 238 pg/mL in the placebo arm. The researchers observed no difference from baseline to final visit in calcium, phosphorus, or Ca x P product values in either group.
