TRANSIENT IMPACT OF HEMODIALYSIS ON GASTRIC MYOELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OFUREMIC PATIENTS

Upper gastrointestinal discomforts are common in uremic patients. Inve stigators have stressed the structural, histopathological, and physiol ogical changes in the gastrointestinal tract in the past decades. Few data are available about the electrophysiological changes in the stoma ch of uremic patients. It is not known whether hemodialysis alters gas tric myoelectrical activity. More interestingly, what is the long-term effect? To address these questions, we measured gastric myoelectrical activity before and after hemodialysis in patients with endstage rena l disease on maintenance dialysis treatment. Twenty-one uremic patient s with dyspeptic complaints were enrolled in this study. Gastric myoel ectrical activity was measured noninvasively using abdominal surface e lectrodes (electrogastrography). The paired variables obtained before and after hemodialysis were compared statistically. We also compared t he difference between two subgroups defined as new hemodialysis patien ts and chronic hemodialysis patients. We found that there was a signif icantly lower percentage of normal slow-wave frequency obtained after hemodialysis in comparison with before hemodialysis (fasting state: 49 .1 +/- 4.8% vs 68.1 +/- 5.4%, P < 0.01; fed state: 53.8 +/- 6.9% vs 73 .4 +/- 4.1%, P < 0.01). In comparing the subgroups, there were no diff erences between each EGG variable. We concluded that the hemodialysis itself compromised gastric myoelectrical activity in its immediate eff ect. However, there were no permanent effects regarding gastric myoele ctrical activity itself.