Evaluation of Endoscopic Findings in Renal Transplantation Candidates

Abstract

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) may demonstrate a number of gastrointetinal lesions and suffer subsequent complications. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of upper gastrointestinal lesions in patients with ESRD and the necessity of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) before renal transplantation. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted during 4 years (from July 2004 to July 2007) on patients with ESRD. Endoscopic information was collected from endoscopic archive of hospitals. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS18. Findings: In this study, 300 patients including 174 males (58%) and 126 females (42%), were evaluated. Duodenal erosions (31.7%), antral erosion (20.7%), and duodenal ulcer (9.3%) were common lesions in our patients with ESRD. Male gender was associated with a higher risk of these lesions. In addition, high prevalence of lesions was found at endoscopy in asymptomatic patients. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that the prevalence of upper gastrointestinal lesions in patients with ESRD is higher from general population. Therefore, routine UGIE should be performed in all patients before renal transplantation.

Keywords

• End-stage renal disease
• Renal transplantation
• Upper gastrointestinal lesions