Thyroid Function and Volume Changes in Patients with End Stage Renal Disease, Before and After Kidney Transplantation

Disturbances of thyroid hormones metabolism and morphology are common in esrd (end stage renal disease) but dataavailable shows discrepancies regarding the post transplantation status of kidney recipients. the aim of this study was to assess thyroidfunction and morphology after kidney transplantation surgery.materials and methods: thirty-two kidney recepient patients, without previous history of thyroid disorders, were enrolled. serum levels of creatinine tt3, tt4, rt3u, tsh and thyroid staging were obtainedand echogenicity were determined by ultrasonography one week before and 1, 3 and 6 months after kidney transplant surgery.results: thirty-two patients (22 males, 10 females) with mean±sd of age 38.2±12.6 years were evaluated.tt3, tt4 and rt3u levels significantly increased by improvement of graft function (p< 0.05) but in 7 patients with delayed graft function thosevalues remained at lower levels. no cases with hyperthyroidismor hypothyroidism were detected.thyroid volume decreased and echogenicity increased after transplantation (p<0.05). six patients had thyroid nodules and cysts before surgery and 2 new cysts were detected after surgery. there was no relationship between age, sex, type and duration of dialysis and thyroid function after transplantation.conclusion: this study reveals a clear correlation between thyroid function and morphology (volume and echogenicity) and improvement of kidney function after transplantation; long-term follow-up ishowever required for evaluation of occurrence of thyroid nodules and malignancies following transplantation.