[Frequency of altered levels of thyroid hormones in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis]

There are concomitant conditions that, by themselves, alter the metabolism of thyroid hormones in chronic kidney disease (CKD), in addition to structural and functional alterations of the thyroid gland. It has been shown that there are various abnormalities in CKD that interfere with peripheral hormonal metabolism.

To determine the frequency of alteration of thyroid hormones in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis and to identify if thyroid disease prevails.

Cross-sectional and descriptive study with peritoneal dialysis patients in a secondary hospital. We took into account the patient age, cause of renal disease, peritoneal dialysis modality and time it was received. Also, serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), total thyroxine (TT4), free thyroxine (FT4), and stimulating hormone thyroid (TSH).

We studied 76 patients, 43 being men with a mean age of 58.3 years, and the average time of peritoneal dialysis was 27.2 months, and resulting continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (n = 61) was the main mode. Of the subjects, 96.1% had at least one alteration in thyroid hormone, 27 had subclinical hypothyroidism, and five had primary hypothyroidism.

A basic thyroid profile must be used in profile screening of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.