Aim of the work
The aim of this study was to detect changes occurring in some tendons,
for example, Achilles, quadriceps, and supraspinatus tendons, using
musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) imaging in patients with chronic kidney
disease (CKD) on regular hemodialysis and to evaluate associations of these
changes with patients’ clinical status, parathyroid hormone (PTH) level as well as
other laboratory parameters.
Patients and methods
This study was carried out on 35 patients and a group of 25 age-matched and sexmatched
apparently healthy participants as a control group. All patients underwent
history taking; clinical examination; and shoulder, knee, and ankle plain
radiography. Laboratory investigations including PTH level were done. MSUS
was performed on the selected tendons for all patients and controls.
Results
The ankle was the most clinically affected joint. US abnormalities most commonly
affected the Achilles tendon (15.2%) having calcific deposits, abnormal peritendon
tissue, increased thickness, and abnormal structure, followed by the quadriceps
tendon (2.9%), whereas the supraspinatus tendon was the least affected (2.3%).
There were highly statistically significant differences between patients with CKD
and controls regarding mean tendon thickness, with the quadriceps tendon and
supraspinatus tendons being thicker in the study group (P