Helicobacter pylori before and after the kidney transplantation

Renal disease is often accompanied by significant gastrointestinal symptoms, and Helicobacter pylori is related to these disorders. There is a paucity of data about the endoscopic findings of kidney recipients. HLA-class II genes have been repeatedly investigated for predisposition to H. pylori infection. The aim was to evaluate the H. pylori infection rate, study the relationship between HLA antigens and H. pylori, and assess the post-transplant gastrointestinal disorders. Data of 709 uraemic patients were collected for seroepidemiologic study; 58.7% of patients were male and the mean age was 45.1 years. The endoscopic results of 543 kidney transplant recipients were analysed; their mean age was 49.5 years and 56.9% were male. Of 709 patients, 49.37% were seropositive for H. pylori. Prevalence of H. pylori decreased strongly with the year of birth. Significant difference was observed in the occurrence of HLA-DR12 according to H. pylori serology. Twenty-nine per cent of endoscopies showed ulcer disease in the first 3 months, more frequent (p = 0.0014) than later. The presence of H. pylori was verified in 20.9% of cases, less than in the general, and in the uraemic population (p < 0.0001). There was no association between the presence of H. pylori and ulcer (p = 0.28). Steroid pulse treatment for rejection was not associated with more ulcers (p = 0.11).