Feasibility of Colonoscopy and Its Findings in Patients after Kidney Transplantation

Many studies have clearly reported the advantages of colonoscopy screening in terms of reducing the mortality rate of colorectal cancers in general population. However, the importance of colonoscopy screening in improving the survival rate of kidney transplant recipients is still unclear. So, the aim of this study is to survey the importance and feasibility of colonoscopy screening in kidney transplant recipients.

This clinical study was conducted from February 2015 to November 2016. All participants received polyethylene glycolelectrolyte solution (PEG-ES) or magnesium hydroxide for bowel preparation. Colonoscopy was done and the location and the size of any lesions were recorded in all participants.

Among 247 post-kidney transplant patients who were visited routinely in Labbafi-Nejad Hospital in Tehran, 30 individuals with any signs or symptoms of malignant or non-malignant colorectal diseases and patients who had a colonoscopy during the previous year or had a failed transplant procedure and subsequent return to dialysis were excluded. Finally, 217 kidney transplant recipients were enrolled in this study, of which 121 patients completed the study.

The results of this study, for the first time, confirm the safety and efficiency of colonoscopy as a routine gastrointestinal screening method among post-kidney transplant recipients in Iran, and suggest that it can be highly proficient in detecting gastrointestinal lesions and its implementation is without significant adverse effects in such patients.