Gallstones were associated with the gastrointestinal adverse events of cinacalcet in hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism

This study aimed to investigate the association of gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events of cinacalcet with gallstones in the hemodialysis (HD) patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). A total of 23 HD patients under the treatment with cinacalcet and 101 control patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. We investigated the prevalence of gallstones and the association of GI adverse events of cinacalcet with gallstones. The prevalence of gallstones was significantly higher in the HD patients with cinacalcet compared with the controls (47.8% vs. 15.8%). The longer time on HD, hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and elevated parathyroid hormone level were observed in the HD patients with cinacalcet. Besides, GI adverse events of cinacalcet were observed more frequently in the HD patients with gallstones compared with those without gallstones (odds ratio 13.5, 95% CI: 1.80–101). Therefore, screening for gallstones before dosing cinacalcet may reduce the risk of GI adverse events in SHPT patients.