Clinical advantage and tolerability of ibandronate in hemodialysis patients: a retrospective study

Background: Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRACP-5b) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP) levels have not been evaluated following ibandronate treatment in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ibandronate, including TRACP-5b and BALP levels, in patients on HD, we conducted a 6-month retrospective study of 13 HD patients who were administered ibandronate at Kaetsu Hospital in Japan. All enrolled patients were placed on a regimen of intravenous ibandronate at a dose of 1 mg once every 4 weeks, from August 2015 to October 2016. Baseline and end-of-study levels of TRACP-5b and BALP were determined 1 month before and 6 months after the start of ibandronate treatment. Results: TRACP-5b levels were significantly decreased from 785.3 ± 385.8 mU/dL at baseline to 638.2 ± 423.4 mU/dL at end of study (P = 0.03). Additionally, the changing levels of TRACP-5b were positively associated with baseline hip bone mineral density (BMD) (P = 0.02, r = 0.65). In contrast, BALP levels were not significantly changed. Moreover, hip BMD tended to decrease from 0.51 ± 0.10 g/cm at baseline to 0.47 ± 0.11 g/cm at end of study (P = 0.07). The tolerability index showed no statistical difference between baseline and end of study. Conclusion: Our results indicate that ibandronate treatment in HD patients—especially those with low BMD—might sufficiently reduce TRACP-5b levels with no long-term changes in other clinical laboratory parameters. Therefore, ibandronate might be a feasible treatment option for HD patients who develop low BMD.