Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy for advanced renal hyperparathyroidism in Japan: 2004 survey by the Japanese Society for Parathyroid Intervention

Background. Marked hyperplasia of the parathyroid gland (PTG) is a characteristic feature of severe hyperparathyroidism in patients under chronic haemodialysis treatment. Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) is now becoming popular in Japan as a treatment option for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) and its cost is covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) System. The Japanese Society for Parathyroid Intervention surveyed its membership in 2004 to revise the guidelines for the use of PEIT. Methods. The project was approved by the Executive Committee of the Society, and the primary questionnaire was addressed to 3268 centres (departments) affiliated with the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy. A follow-up questionnaire was sent to all the centres that responded. Results. Although the number of centres to which the questionnaire was sent in 2004 was 3268, compared with 2653 in 1998, the number of responses decreased from 1425 (53.7%) in 1998 to 962 (29.4%) in 2004. To the question of whether the centre performed PEIT, 114 (11.9%) answered 'Yes' and 848 (88.1%) answered 'No' in 2004. It was an increase from 1998 when only 83 (5.8%) of 1425 centres answered 'Yes'. In the 1998 survey, 612 patients underwent PEIT at 74 centres, and in 2004, 2098 patients underwent PEIT at 111 centres. Conclusions. PEIT may become the frequently performed treatment for SHPT patients who become resistant to medical therapy. However, the same problems as in 1998 remain unsolved; that is, recurrent nerve paralysis, difficulty of post-PEIT PTx and lack of evidence showing the long-term effectiveness of PEIT.