title: Gastrointestinal symptoms: a comparison between patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the prevalence and diversity of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and ninety-four end-stage renal disease patients participated in the study, including 182 HD and 112 PD patients. Dimension scores were calculated from a modified gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS) 18-item questionnaire, including items concerning eating dysfunction, and were used for measuring GI symptoms. Information on patient age, condition contributing to end-stage renal disease and the most recent dialysis adequacy assessment (serum Kt/V urea value) was obtained from the follow-up database and by interviewing patients and/or reviewing the medical records. Differences between the HD and PD groups were evaluated using Student's t, Pearson's χ(2) or Fisher's exact tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of GI symptoms, defined by a GSRS > 1, in end-stage renal disease patients was 70.7% (208/294), which differed between HD and PD patients (76.4% vs 61.6%, P < 0.01). HD patients had a higher prevalence of constipation, abdominal pain and diarrhea compared to PD patients (36.3% vs 17.9%, 32.4% vs 5.4%, 17.6% vs 4.5%, respectively, P < 0.05). PD patients had a higher prevalence of reflux compared to HD patients (32.1% vs 24.2%, P < 0.05). Additionally, reflux and eating dysfunction were more severe in PD patients (GSRS: 1.71 ± 1.15 vs 1.30 ± 0.67, 1.57 ± 0.84 vs 1.39 ± 0.61, respectively, P < 0.05), whereas HD patients had greater abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation (GSRS: 1.22 ± 0.39 vs 1.04 ± 0.19, 1.19 ± 0.53 vs 1.07 ± 0.35, 1.51 ± 0.83 vs 1.23 ± 0.58, respectively, P < 0.05). Finally, 14.8% (27/182) of HD patients presented with more than three GI symptoms, compared to 7.2% (8/112) of PD patients (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HD and PD patients differ in prevalence, severity and diversity of GI symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Rui Dong, Zhi-Yong Guo, Jia-Rong Ding, Yang-Yang Zhou, Hao Wu, Department of Nephrology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Rui Dong, Zhi-Yong Guo, Jia-Rong Ding, Yang-Yang Zhou, Hao Wu, Department of Nephrology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yong
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Rui Dong, Zhi-Yong Guo, Jia-Rong Ding, Yang-Yang Zhou, Hao Wu, Department of Nephrology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Rong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Rui Dong, Zhi-Yong Guo, Jia-Rong Ding, Yang-Yang Zhou, Hao Wu, Department of Nephrology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Yang-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Rui Dong, Zhi-Yong Guo, Jia-Rong Ding, Yang-Yang Zhou, Hao Wu, Department of Nephrology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Abdominal pain; Constipation; Diarrhea; Eating dysfunction; End-stage renal disease; Gastrointestinal symptom; Hemodialysis; Indigestion; Peritoneal dialysis; Reflux