Journal of

Background and Aim: Chronic renal failure is a clinical state which results in declining the kidney function. Chronic renal failure has numerous cutaneous manifestations, when the process of hemodialysis begins, new changes may appear as a result. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cutaneous problems among patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis in Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients with chronic renal failure under hemodialysis in Shahid Mohammadi Hospital Dialysis Center were examined by a dermatologist. The data were gathered and analyzed by SPSS software (version 16) using descriptive statistics, t and chi2 tests. P less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The most common skin findings were dry skin (78.3%), followed by pallor (71.7%) and pruritus (58.3%). Other common cutaneous manifestations were half-half nail (35%), idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis (33.3%), yellowish skin color change (31.7%), subungal hyperkeratosis (30%), onycholysis (20%), beau's line (15%), cherry angioma (15%), skin hyperpigmentation (15%) and purpura (13.3%).
Conclusion: Chronic renal failure is associated with various cutaneous manifestations caused by hemodiaysis or the disease itself. The most common ones are dry skin and pallor. The early diagnosis of cutaneous changes may decrease the morbidity and eventually lead to quality of life improvement in these patients.