title: Gastric metaplasia and Helicobacter pylori infection in hemodialysis patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) symptoms are common in hemodialysis (HD) patients, while gastric metaplasia (GM) and Helicobacter pylori infections are key causes for UGI symptoms. This study is targeted to compare GM and H. pylori infections in patients with different durations of HD.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 406 subjects from Ningbo Urology and Nephrology Hospital were included. The mean age of subjects was 44.7 ± 13.5 years; 62.9% were male; and subjects were divided into four groups according to different HD durations. Upper endoscopy and lesion were performed in these patients and methylene blue staining was used in detecting H. pylori and GM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Erosive gastritis was the most common symptom in uremic subjects. GM was found in 139 patients. The longer the dialysis duration, the higher the incidence rate of GM (p < 0.05). H. pylori infection accounted for 24.1% in HD patients. The occurrence of H. pylori infection decreased as dialysis periods progressed within the first 4-year follow-up after the start of HD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Almost all patients with HD experienced gastrointestinal discomfort in the current patient cohort. The most common mucosal lesion observed in our study pool was chronic erosive gastritis. The overall incidence of GM was normal at 35.0%, since quite a part of patients are the elderly group in this study. We need not worry about this too much, unless the HD patients have registered for renal transplantation or are suffering from severe gastrointestinal discomfort.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Ningbo Urology and Nephrology Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: CongYang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: QiJun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: JiGuang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: JiSheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: BeiYan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: XuPing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008679:Metaplasia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014511:Uremia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult