CLINICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL SKIN CHANGES IN CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE PATIENTS ON HEMODIALY

Abstract

The kidney is the organ which is responsible for maintaining both l •the volume and ionic composition of the body fluids excreting fixed or non volatile metabolic waste products such as creatinine, urea and uric acid and eliminating exogenous drugs and toxins. It is also a major endocrine organ, producing and secreting certain enzymes and hormones e.g. erythropoietin, renin and 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol.

Chronic renal failure . is a functional diagnosis characterized by a progressive and generally irreversible decline in the glomerular filtration rate. The clinical constellation of symptoms and signs of end­ stage renal failure is known as "Uremic Syndrome".

Hemodialysis employs the process of diffusion across a seun- 1 permeable membrane to remove unwanted substances from the blood while adding desirable components.

Several skin changes have been reported in patients with chronic renal failure, and opportunity has been offered to elucidate newer cutaneous abnormalities among patients undergoing hemodialysis. The cutaneous manifestations of chronic renal failure are numerous e.g. pruritus, xerosis, skin pigmentation, purpura, half-and-half nails, infections, acquired perforating dermatos•es, Kaposi's and pseudoKaposi's sarcoma, skin calcification etc.