title: Nodular duodenitis. Pathologic and clinical characteristics in patients with end-stage renal disease.
abstract: This prospective study evaluated the radiographic, endoscopic, histologic, and clinical characteristics of nodular duodenitis found in 17 of 50 (34%) patients with end-stage renal disease. By comparison, nodular duodenitis was noted in only 23 of 557 (4%) consecutive endoscopies in a general medical population. Endoscopic nodular duodenitis consisted of two or more nodules, 2.5-7.0 mm in diameter, with apical erythema, with or without tip erosions. Eight patients had nodules in the bulb only, eight had diffuse duodenal nodules, and a single patient had nodules only in the second portion of the duodenum. Single-contrast barium x-rays were sensitive in detecting the nodules only when they were 5 mm or greater in diameter. Some degree of inflammatory infiltrate was found in 14 of 17 (82%) of the patients with nodular duodenitis; 10 of 17 had a moderate to severe histologic grade compared to 3 of 18 (P = 0.015) patients with a normal endoscopic appearance to the duodenum. Several patients with endoscopic nodular duodenitis, in whom biopsies were taken both of the nodule and surrounding mucosa, were found to have a focal histologic lesion which consisted of villous blunting and thickening due to fibrosis and a chronic inflammatory infiltrate or lymphoid aggregate in the stroma. A higher incidence of peptic ulcers occurred in the nodular duodenitis group (3 of 17) compared to the remainder of the group (0 of 33) during a mean follow-up of 38 months (P = 0.03). Resolution of the nodules occurred in six patients following successful renal transplant (four patients) and following vagotomy and pyloroplasty (two patients).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D004382:Duodenitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D004384:Duodenoscopy; D004890:Erythema / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography