Long-term management of sevelamer hydrochloride-induced metabolic acidosis aggravation and hyperkalemia in hemodialysis patients

Sevelamer hydrochloride use in hemodialysis patients is complicated by metabolic acidosis aggravation and hyperkalemia. Rare reports about a short-term correction of this complication have been published. The current authors investigated the long-term correction of metabolic acidosis and hyperkalemia in sevelamer hydrochloride-treated patients at doses adequate to achieve serum phosphate levels within K/DOQI (TM) recommendations. The authors followed 20 hemodialysis patients for 24 months in an open-label prospective study. The dialysate bicarbonate concentration was increased stepwise to a maximum 40 mEq/L and adjusted to reach patient serum bicarbonate levels of 22 mEq/L, according to K/DOQI (TM) recommendations. Laboratory results for serum bicarbonate, potassium, calcium, phosphate, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, iPTH, cholesterol (HDL-LDL), triglycerides, Kt/V, systolic-diastolic arterial pressure were recorded. Sevelamer hydrochloride-induced metabolic acidosis aggravation and hyperkalemia in hemodialysis patients were corrected, on the long-term, by an increase in dialysate bicarbonate concentration. Further improvement in bone biochemistry was noted with this adequate acidosis correction and parallel sevelamer hydrochloride administration, in sufficiently large doses to achieve K/DOQI (TM) phosphate recommendations.