Introduction:
Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a considerable discharge diagnosis
with > 500,000 discharges annually. GIB has approximately 5
billion dollars cost for hospitalization. In the last two decades,
research and advancement have improved inpatient mortality of upper GIB.
While the rate of lower GIB and in-hospital complication rate has gone
up, it is creating an economic burden for hospitals. [1-4] Patients
with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
have a higher tendency for gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). [5 6]
These patients have a five-fold higher risk of GIB as compared with
those without CKD. [7-9] Also, patients with CKD have higher
mortality [10]. ESRD patients are likely to bleed more due to a
variety of causes, which include heparin used during dialysis, platelet
dysfunction, and medications [7 11 12].
Multiple studies have shown unfavorable outcomes in ESRD patients who
develop upper GIB. Not many studies have examined the impact of ESRD on
patients with lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB)[5 13-15]. We
aimed to study ESRD patients who are hospitalized for acute LGIB. We
have assessed mortality, morbidity, and predictors for mortality of
these patient groups.