[Acquired renal cysts in patients on chronic hemodialysis treatment]

The kidneys of chronic hemodialysis patients are subject to different morphological modifications, although they are in fact functional. One of those modifications, cystic transformation of the kidneys, is the object of this study. Seventy-nine chronic hemodialysis patients treated at the Hemodialysis Centre of the Osijek General Hospital underwent ultrasonographic examinations in 1987. Subsequently, the rest of 56 patients underwent scanning again. Only the group of patients that could be followed up for the two-year period was analysed. It has been noticed that the number of patients having cysts has been higher after some time (19 to 47), as well as of those having more than 3 cysts (2 to 8) and of those having bilateral cysts (4 of 19 to 37 of 47). The patients having more than 3 cysts in the kidney do not essentially differ in age, daily diuresis, average hematocrit values and kidney size from the patients having solitary cysts or from those without any cyst. On the other side, those patients take significantly more time to be treated by chronic hemodialysis. Following the results obtained in this study, we conclude that cystic transformation of the kidneys in chronic hemodialysis patients is the benign disease. The findings pointing out at solitary cysts among this group of patients may also present a stage in the development of acquired multicystic kidney transformation. Only partial reliability of diagnosing the disease by ultrasonography and benignity suggest that regular ultrasonographic controls of those patients are not necessary.