Abstract

BACKGROUND: Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) is a prevalent disorder in patients with chronic kidney disease. It is proffered that there is a contradictory relation between serum level of vitamin C and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to assess the effects of the supplemental vitamin C on parathyroid hormone among hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind and parallel-group trial was conducted on 82 hemodialysis patients with serum levels of PTH more than 200 pg/mL. In intervention group, 250 mg vitamin C was injected three times a week for 8 weeks in a row immediately at the end of each dialysis session via the intravenous route. In the control group, same term of placebo saline was injected. RESULTS: The mean of serum PTH was 699.81 (+/- 318.8) and 596.03 (+/- 410.7) pg/mL in intervention and control groups respectively at baseline (reference range, 6 to 66 pg/mL), and at the end of study it changed to 441.4 and 424.6 in these groups. The values of serum Calcium and Phosphate did not significantly change during the study (8.4 +/- 0.6 mg/dL versus 8.1 +/- 0.8 mg/dL, P = 0.39; 5.89 +/- 1.7 mg/dL versus 5.9 +/- 1.9 mg/dL, P = 0.08, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study finding does not warranted therapeutic effect of vitamin C on secondary hyperparathyroidism.