title: Influence of the level of renal insufficiency on endoscopic changes in the upper gastrointestinal tract.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lesions of the gastrointestinal tract are frequent finding in uremic patients but their actual nature is not completely clear. The aim of this study was to detect any correlation between endoscopic lesions of patients with different levels of renal insufficiency.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study involved 244 cases, with dyspeptic difficulties including 124 patients in different stages of renal insufficiency, and a control group of 120 patients with normal renal function. Upper esophagogastroscopy was performed in all patients because of the appearance of dyspeptic difficulties. Helicobacter pylori infection was detected by the urease test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  H. pylori infection (P=0.009), gastric erosions (P=0.019), gastric ulcer (P=0.002), and duodenal ulcer (P<0.001) were more common in the control group of patients. Significant negative correlations were found between the level of renal insufficiency and H. pylori infection (Kendall's tau=-0.346; P=0.003), stomach erosions (Kendall's tau=-0.272; P=0.019), stomach ulcer (Kendall's tau=-0.347; P=0.003), and duodenal ulcer (Kendall's tau=-0.531; P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with end stage renal disease, endoscopic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract are detected less frequently in relation to patients without kidney disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Pristina, Faculty of Medicine, Pristina/Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia. radsto@ptt.yu
authors.forename: Radojica V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Stolic
authors.forename: Aleksandar N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Jovanovic
authors.forename: Ziva P
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Zivic
authors.forename: Vladan M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Peric
authors.forename: Snezana R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Markovic
authors.forename: Sasa R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Sovtic
authors.forename: Goran Z
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Trajkovic
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Subaric-Gorgieva
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004384:Duodenoscopy; D005260:Female; D005773:Gastroscopy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000473:pathology*