Predictive value of desferrioxamine infusion test for bone aluminium deposits in hemodialyzed patients.

A transiliac bone biopsy was performed in 16 hemodialyzed patients, and a staining procedure with Aluminon was used to reveal bone aluminium deposits. The baseline serum aluminium levels did not allow to predict the patients with aluminium deposits. In contrast, the peak of serum aluminium, 48 h after a desferrioxamine infusion, was much more reliable for the detection of patients with bone aluminium overload.