Radiologic changes in the pelvis of patients with chronic renal insufficiency undergoing periodic dialysis

Bone alterations in the patients undergoing periodic dialysis represent a frequent and invalidating complication and cause the pattern called uremic osteodystrophy. In this study we have examined 173 pelvic X-rays of 73 patients affected with chronic renal insufficiency and undergoing periodic dialysis. The results indicate the presence of all the lesions characterizing uremic osteodystrophy. Arterial calcifications and osteoporosis are the most frequent patterns; with various incidence, osteomalacia, osteitis fibrosa, osteosclerosis and brown tumors are associated. In this group of patients, who were followed for many years, a non-univocal behavior was observed: next to patterns of progressive aggravation, such as vascular calcifications, phases of stabilization/improvement were observed, e.g., in case of brown tumors and osteitis fibrosa.