Objective: To assess the radiographic features of erosive arthropathy of the hands occurring in patients undergoing hemodialysis, and its relationship with metabolic abnormalities.
Patients and design: A retrospective study of hand radiographs of 80 patients on maintenance hemodialysis was performed with the aim of detecting erosive arthropathy.
Results and conclusions: Ten patients showed erosive arthropathy of the hands with a predilection for distal interphalangeal joints. The first joint abnormality was joint space narrowing with or without erosion. The mean duration of hemodialysis was 5 years (range 1-15 years). The development of arthropathy could not be related to a metabolic factor. The pathogenesis of arthropathy of the hands is possibly multifactorial, accounting for the disparate descriptions of the radiographic features in the literature.