The use of cinacalcet for the treatment of calciphylaxis in patients with chronic kidney disease: A comprehensive review.

The use of cinacalcet for the treatment of calciphylaxis in patients with chronic kidney disease: A comprehensive review. Australas J Dermatol. 2019 Jan 21;: Authors: Deen J, Schaider H Abstract Calciphylaxis is a rare but life-threatening condition, most commonly affecting patients with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease. No universally accepted therapy exists so far. In an attempt to avoid surgical intervention with parathyroidectomy, which is of questionable efficacy and carries several risks, a number of noninvasive treatments have been trialled with variable success. These treatments are aimed at modifying risk factors for calciphylaxis, in particular hypercalcaemia, hyperphosphataemia and hyperparathyroidism. The aim of this review was to summarise the available evidence to determine the potential role of cinacalcet in the treatment of calciphylaxis in patients with chronic kidney disease. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively collected from the available English and non-English literature. Overall, there was a very high response rate (partial or complete) of calciphylaxis lesions to both cinacalcet monotherapy and cinacalcet as part of a combination therapy (83.4% and 82.8%, respectively). When examining complete response to treatment specifically, combination therapy with cinacalcet proved more efficacious than monotherapy (62.1% versus 41.7%). There was also an associated rapid reduction of intact p...
Source: The Australasian Journal of Dermatology - Category: Dermatology Authors: Tags: Australas J Dermatol Source Type: research