Studies on endoscopic findings in chronic renal failure

Abstract

To determine the frequency and type of upper gastrointestinal lesions in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) , endoscopy was done in 185 cases. One hundred patients were undergoing dialysis and 85 patients were in pre-dialysis, 22 patients without renal failure served as control. Endoscopic findings showed that the most predominant gastric lesions in those undergoing dialysis was spotty hemorrhage (34%) , followed by erosions (17%) and ulcers (7%) . Those in pre-dinalysis stage had the same incidence. These patients with CRF had a high prevalence of inflammatory mucosal changes. Spottty hemorrhage and erosive gastritis were more common cause of bleeding in CRF patients than in non-CRF controls. The prevalence of gastric bleeding was related to anemia. Our results emphasize the importance of keeping higher level of hematocrit and hemoglobin content in CRF patients.