Acute pancreatitis during haemodialysis

mechanism behind this apparent thalidomide-induced hyperkalaemia remains unclear. Therefore, the authors recommend caution when thalidomide is used in patients with moderate to severe renal failure (serum creatinine >300mmol/l) or in patients on dialysis. To go a step further, we think that thalidomide should in all cases be started at a dosage that should not exceed 100mg/day. It is also important to keep in mind that, even at this low dosage, thalidomide side effects may appear and that they may be severe. Furthermore, thalidomide has been used to treat uraemic pruritus at a dosage of 100mg/day in a study enrolling 210 patients with 29 cases of refractory uraemic pruritus in a crossover randomized double-blind trial with a 78% mean reduction in patients’ pruritus scoring. In this study by Silva et al., no side effect or biochemical abnormality has been reported [7].