Gastrointestinal Tract



In untreated uremic patients, gastroenteritis and/or colitis is frequently reported. Patients may present with anorexia, nausea, vomiting, or gas­trointestinal bleeding. These symptoms may im­prove when dialysis is instituted. In addition, there are abnormalities in the motility of the gas­trointestinal tract in some patients as well as ab­normalities in the absorptive functions of the gut.
Particularly in patients on dialysis, hepatitis is common owing to exposure to blood and blood products. Transaminase activity in serum, how­ever, may be only minimally elevated in patients with significant liver disease because of suppres­sion in transaminase activity in uremic serum.