Reduced oral dryness in renal transplant patients

Objectives: Kidney replacement therapy such as hemodialysis (HD) or kidney transplantation are required in patients with End Stage Renal Dialysis (ESRD). It has been suggested that HD could damage the salivary glands resulting in hyposalivation. Furthermore, it has been shown that xerostomia and hyposalivation both play a role as an unwanted stimulus to drink in HD patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of transplantation on the level of xerostomia and salivary flow rate. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 43 HD and 22 transplant patients. Unstimulated (UWS) and chewing stimulated whole saliva (CH-SWS) were collected. Xerostomia (subjective oral dryness) was determined with the Xerostomia Inventory (range XI score: 11-55). Log-transformed salivary data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. Results: Forty-three HD patients (54.4±17.4 years, 31 men:12 women) and twenty-two transplant patients (51.5±16.2 years, 11 men:11 women) participated in this study. Both the UWS and CH-SWS salivary flow rates were significantly higher in the transplanted group compared to the HD patients (UWS=0.43±0.28 ml/min ; 0.32±0.25 ml/min (p=.043), respectively). The level of xerostomia was significantly lower (XI= 21.0±7.4) in transplant patients than in HD patients (XI= 27.2±8.7, p= .007). Conclusions: Oral dryness is significantly diminished in kidney transplant patients compared to HD patients. Therefore, it seems likely that oral dryness in HD patients is temporary and receiving a kidney transplantation could have a positive effect on the salivary flow rate and the related Quality of Life.