Expanding Outcomes Beyond Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis of Parathyroidectomy versus Calcimimetics in Dialysis Patients with Secondary Hyperparathyroidism

Description

Yi-Chou Hou and colleagues published a 2026 comparison of surgery versus medication for severe secondary hyperparathyroidism in dialysis patients, looking beyond the usual bone and mineral outcomes. Overactive parathyroid glands plague people with end-stage kidney disease, and both removal and calcimimetic drugs control them. Drawing on a research network covering 2010 to 2024, the team matched 11,290 surgical patients with 11,290 drug-treated patients on background health and lab values. They followed outcomes for up to seven years.

Surgery was associated with lower all-cause mortality, with a hazard ratio of 0.914, and with lower risks of mild cognitive impairment and of sepsis. Heart and cardiovascular event rates, fractures, and cognitive impairment did not differ between strategies. The authors suggest gland removal may deliver systemic benefits than drug therapy in selected patients. Because the data are observational, they present the advantage as an association that selection effects could partly explain, not proof of cause.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13280741