Gastrointestinal bleeding due to angiodysplasia in patients on hemodialysis : a single-center study

Abstract EN

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding due to angiodysplastic lesions is a common problem among patients receiving hemodialysis (HD).

We studied 22 HD patients (5 females and 17 males) who had GI bleeding due to angiodysplasia; the mean age of whom was 54 ± 10 years.

All patients had upper and lower GI endoscopy.

The most common site for the lesion was the right colon in seven cases (31.8%), followed by stomach in 4 cases (18.1%).

In eight (36.3%) patients, there were multiple lesions located in the stomach, duodenum, and the right colon.

All patients were treated with coagulation; with argon plasma in 14 (63.6%) patients, bipolar coagulation in five (22.7%) patients, and hot clip in three (13.6%) patients.

One patient who presented with persistent bleeding despite endoscopic therapy was well-benefited of a complementary treatment, thalidomide.

Hemostasis was obtained in all patients after an average of 6.8 sessions of endoscopic coagulation procedure.

We conclude that angiodysplasia is a frequent cause of hemorrhage in chronic renal failure that can be managed in most patients by argon plasma and bipolar coagulation.