Clinicoepidemiological study of skin manifestations in patients of chronic renal failure on hemodialysis.

Background: Chronic renal failure (CRF) is associated with a variety of cutaneous manifestations as a result of underlying etiology as well as the various treatment modalities.

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of various dermatoses in patients with CRF on hemodialysis and to study the effect of hemodialysis on the intensity of pruritus.

Materials And Methods: A total of 35 patients of CRF on hemodialysis having at least one cutaneous manifestation were included in the study.

Results: Twenty-four (68.71%) cases in our study belonged to the age group of 50-69 years, out of which 16 cases were in the sixth decade. Xerosis and pruritus occurred in 80% and 65.71% of cases, respectively. Other common findings included pallor (68.57%), dyspigmentation (34.29%), cutaneous infections (34.39%), acquired perforating dermatosis (17.4%), and nail changes (60%). Hemodialysis failed to improve pruritus in 17 (73.9%) of our patients. Twenty-six patients (74.28%) suffered from hypertension, 13 of them also were known cases of type II diabetes mellitus. Five patients suffered exclusively from type II diabetes mellitus.

Conclusions: In our small study, xerosis was the commonest finding and pruritus, the commonest symptom. The intensity of pruritus was largely unaffected by hemodialysis.