Evaluation the prevalence of gastrointestinal lesions and Helicobacter pylori infection in upper endoscopic study of asymptomatic renal transplantation candidates

Renal transplantation is the most effective therapeutic strategy in ESRD patients. One of the renal transplantation complications is gastrointestinal bleeding due to peptic ulcers beside other upper gastrointestinal diseases that have a great impact on patients’ morbidity and mortality.

The present study is designed for endoscopic assessment of the prevalence of upper gastrointestinal lesions and also Helicobacter pylori infection in ESRD patients waiting for renal transplantation who have no GI symptoms.

Our cross-sectional research was performed on 85 renal transplant candidates referred to organ transplantation center within 2016 to 2018. Patients who met inclusion criteria and didn’t have exclusion criteria underwent upper endoscopy. We performed biopsies in each case and data were classified according to endoscopic results, Helicobacter pylori infection and pathologic findings.

In 53 patients (62%) there were significant endoscopic findings. Erosive gastroduodenitis (32.5%) was the most prevalent finding. Abnormal histopathologic findings were found in 73% of patients and Helicobacter pylori infection was detected in 48.2%. We found significant correlation between H. Pylori infection and abnormal pathology (p=0.04).

Our results showed that asymptomatic gastrointestinal lesions and Helicobacter pylori infection were significantly prevalent in kidney transplant candidates thus routine upper endoscopy is recommended in them. This can result in early detection and treatment of gastric lesions before transplantation to prevent serious long-term complications.