Comparison of Endoscopic Findings in Patients on Hemodialysis (HD) and Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) Waiting for Kidney Transplantation

End-stage renal disease is increasing and kidney transplantation is the treatment of the choice; before kidney transplantation, patients undergo on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Digestive problems such as peptic ulcer, cholecystitis, diseases of the colon, and digestive tract malignancies increase the risk of post-transplantation problems. This study aimed to evaluate endoscopic findings and their association with treatment before kidney transplantation.
In this cross-sectional study, 334 kidney-transplant candidates in the years 2006-2011 were entered via census sampling and their information was extracted from patient files in Alzahra and Noor hospitals, Isfahan, Iran, using a questionnaire.
Findings: The most common finding was hiatal hernia with prevalence of 29%, and then, gastric erosions (17.1%), duodenal erosions (15.9%), and antral erosions (15.6%), respectively; there was no angiodysplasia. Comparing the prevalence of endoscopic findings showed no significant different between the patients on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. In our study, hemoglobin levels were 10.8 and 10.5 g/dl in patients on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, respectively; which was not significantly different.
It seems that there is no relationship between the type of replacement therapy before transplantation and the prevalence of endoscopic findings as well as hemoglobin concentration; but additional studies to clarify this issue are advised.