Effect of administering calcium carbonate to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in nondialyzed patients with chronic renal failure

Abstract We administered calcium carbonate orally to determine its safety and efficacy in treating nondialyzed patients with mild to moderate renal failure and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Twenty patients with chronic renal failure (creatinine clearance levels ranging from 7.9 to 42.7 mL/min) participated in this study. After a 6-month control period, 3 g calcium carbonate was administered daily for 6 months. We studied the effect for another 6 months after discontinuation of the regimen. We found that serum-intact parathyroid hormone was suppressed from 183 ± 149 pg/mL to 85 ± 61 pg/mL ( P 2 D 3 . Serum phosphorus levels decreased from 3.4 ± 0.7 to 3.0 ± 0.7 mg/dL ( P 2+ concentration increased significantly from 2.40 ± 0.12 mEq/L to 2.57 ± 0.08 mEq/L ( P 3 supplement at an earlier stage of renal failure. Thus, administration of 3 g oral calcium carbonate daily was highly effective in treating secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with mild to moderate renal failure.