[Cataract during intermittent hemodialysis. The influence of hypocalcemia on the development of opacities (author's transl)].

Twenty uremic patients on intermittent hemodialysis were followed up for lens changes over 4-53 months. Only one patient of 22 years with megaureters and megacystis developed bilateral anterior and posterior subcapsular cataracts during dialysis treatment. The morphology of these cataracts was similar to that of fresh hypocalcemic opacities. The patient had actually been hypocalcemic before the onset of the opacification. Possible reasons for the development of hypocalcemic cataracts during intermittent dialysis might be: 1. a reduced calcium-phosphate ratio due to phosphate accumulation, 2. a decrease of ionized calcium due to removed metabolic acidosis, and 3. a permissive effect of longer latencies.