medicine nephrology kidney dialysis transplantation

RATIONALE: Alport Syndrome (AS) is a progressive genetic condition characterized by chronic kidney disease (CKD), hearing loss, and eye abnormalities. It is caused by mutations in the genes COL4A3, COL4A4 , and COL4A5 . Heterozygous mutations in COL4A4 and COL4A3 cause autosomal dominant Alport Syndrome (ADAS), and a spectrum of phenotypes ranging from asymptomatic hematuria to CKD, with variable extra-renal features. In the past, heterozygous mutations in these genes were thought to be benign, however recent studies show that about 30% of patients can progress to CKD, and 15% can progress to end stage kidney disease (ESKD)...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents one of today's main public health problems. Serum creatinine measurement and estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are the main tools for evaluating renal function. There are several equations to estimate GFR, and CKD-EPI equation (Chronic Kidney Disease - Epidemiology) is the most recommended one. There are still some controversies regarding serum creatinine measurement and GFR estimation, since several factors can interfere in this process. An important recent change was the removal of the correction for race from the equations for estimating GFR, which overestimated kidney function, and consequently delayed the implementation of treatments such as dialysis and kidney transplantation...

The antibodies directed against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules, which play a crucial role in allograft histocompatibility, are called anti-HLA antibodies. Anti-HLA antibodies against foreign HLA molecules may be present in patients with chronic kidney disease even before transplantation. The panel reactive antibody (PRA) test is used to measure the renal transplant candidate's immune sensitivity to HLA molecules other than their own HLA molecules by assessing the diversity of anti-HLA antibodies in the blood of these patients...

BACKGROUND: Entering dialysis is a critical moment in patients' healthcare journey, and little is known about drug therapy around it. A study funded by the Italian Medicines Agency offered the opportunity to leverage data from the Lazio Regional Dialysis and Transplant Registry (RRDTL) and perform an observational study on drug use patterns before and after initiating chronic dialysis. METHODS: Individuals initiating dialysis in 2016-2020 were identified from RRDTL, excluding patients with prior renal transplantation, stopping dialysis early, or dying within 12 months...

BACKGROUND: In Italy, nephrology residency is available in twenty-one nephrology schools, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The present study is aimed at exploring the residents' satisfaction with their training programs. METHODS: Between April 20th and May 19th, 2021, a questionnaire on residency satisfaction consisting of 49 items was sent to 586 residents and 175 recently certified specialists (qualified to practice as nephrologists in 2019 and 2020), with a response rate of 81% and 51%, respectively...

BACKGROUND: Kidney supportive care is an interdisciplinary model of person-centred medicine, suitable for patients with advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and with End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). There is little information on routine care, and palliative care remains poorly integrated into standard nephrology care. The aim of this study was to describe our experience in integrating a palliative care approach into the nephrology care of advanced chronic and end-stage kidney disease...

PURPOSE OF PROGRAM: A key barrier to becoming a living kidney donor is an inefficient evaluation process, requiring more than 30 tests (eg, laboratory and diagnostic tests), questionnaires, and specialist consultations. Donor candidates make several trips to hospitals and clinics, and often spend months waiting for appointments and test results. The median evaluation time for a donor candidate in Ontario, Canada, is nearly 1 year. Longer wait times are associated with poorer outcomes for the kidney transplant recipient and higher health care costs...

(1) Background : The Charlson comorbidity index allocates two points for chronic kidney disease (CKD) if serum creatinine is above 3.0 mg/dL (270 µmol/L). However, contemporary CKD staging is based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) derived from population-based equations. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between eGFR and the creatinine threshold of the Charlson comorbidity index for defining CKD. (2) Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional study of 664 patients with established CKD attending general nephrology clinics over 6 months...

BACKGROUND: Since 2015, the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN-GKHA) has spearheaded multinational efforts to understand the status and capacity of countries to provide optimal kidney care, particularly in low-resource settings. In this iteration of the ISN-GKHA, we sought to extend previous findings by assessing availability, accessibility, quality, and affordability of medicines, kidney replacement therapy (KRT), and conservative kidney management (CKM)...

BACKGROUND: Patients who present with problems with definitive dialysis access (arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous graft (AVG)) become catheter dependent (temporary access), a condition that often carries a higher risk of infections, central venous occlusions and recurrent hospitalisations. For AVG, primary patency rates are reported to be 30% to 90% in patients undergoing thrombectomy or thrombolysis. According to the National Kidney Foundation-Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI) guidelines, surgery is preferred when the cause of the thrombosis is a stenosis at the site of the anastomosis in thrombosed AVF...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Precision tools that ensure molecular compatibility can help prevent rejection and improve kidney transplantation outcomes. However, these tools will generate controversy because they are perceived to and can in fact impact equity in the ethics of allocation. They may also affect the extent to which physicians can advocate for their patient fiduciaries, as generally required by Canadian professional ethics and law. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Electronic databases such as Google Scholar and PubMed were searched for peer-reviewed literature, and Google search engine was used to identify the news articles, jurisprudence, legal information, and other relevant websites cited...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Acute kidney injury (AKI) affects up to 20% of hospitalizations and is associated with chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, increased mortality, and increased health care costs. Proper documentation of AKI in discharge summaries is critical for optimal monitoring and treatment of these patients once discharged. Currently, there is limited literature evaluating the quality of discharge communication after AKI. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and quality of documentation of episodes of AKI at a tertiary care center in British Columbia, Canada...

BACKGROUND: Recently, the importance of attribute-based medicine has been emphasized. The effects of early-onset intracranial aneurysms on patients can be significant and long-lasting. Herein, we compared the factors associated with intracranial aneurysms in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) according to age categories (≥ 50 years, < 50 years). METHODS: We included 519 ADPKD patients, with a median age of 44 years, estimated glomerular filtration rate of 54...

Molecules such as sparsentan and budesonide look promising to treat proteinuric IGA nephropathy. SLGT2 inhibitors have a prominent place in nephroprotection and could be used in the treatment of acute kidney injury due to heart failure as well. High volume hemodiafiltration compared to hemodialysis improves survival in dialysis patients. Lessening dialysate temperature does not improve hemodynamic stability during the dialysis session. Sodium bicarbonate does not seem to protect renal function in renal transplant patients...

Anemia is a frequent and early chronic kidney disease (CKD) complication. Its management is currently based on oral or intravenous iron supplements, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, and red blood cell transfusions, when the benefits of transfusion outweigh the risks. Anemia in CKD patients is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Current standard of care is associated with challenges and therefore new treatment approaches have been sought. Hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl-hydroxylase enzyme inhibitors are a new class of orally administered drugs used to treat anemia associated with CKD...

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is frequently used in the general population, yet only limited data are available regarding the prevalence of these medications in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Hence, our study aimed to explore the prevalence and types of CAM in Taiwanese patients with CKD. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted by face-to-face interview of 275 pre-dialysis patients without dialysis treatment or kidney transplant at an outpatient nephrology clinic in Taiwan from March 2021 to June 2023...

Kidney replacement therapy (KRT) initiated in Latin America towards the second half of the 20th century, starting with dialytic therapies and, shortly thereafter, with kidney transplant. By the end of 2021, close to half a million Latin Americans were under KRT, with an overall unadjusted prevalence of 872 per million persons (pmp), yet with significant heterogeneity between nations. By treatment modality, 68% of prevalent patients were treated with hemodialysis (HD), 9% with peritoneal dialysis (PD), and 23% were living with a functioning kidney graft (LFG)...

INTRODUCTION: The kidney failure risk equation (KFRE) estimates a person's risk of kidney failure and has great potential utility in clinical care. METHODS: We used mixed methods to explore implementation of the KFRE in nephrology clinics. RESULTS: KFRE scores were integrated into the electronic health record at Johns Hopkins Medicine and were displayed to nephrology providers. Documentation of KFRE scores increased over time, reaching 25% of eligible outpatient nephrology clinic notes at month 11...

OBJECTIVES: Kidney transplantation offers patients better quality of life and survival compared with dialysis. The risk of end stage renal disease is higher among ethnic minorities and they experience longer wait times on transplant lists. This inequality stems from a high need for kidney transplantation combined with a low rate of deceased donation among ethnic minority groups. This study aimed to explore the perspectives around living donor kidney transplantation of members of the Sikh and Muslim communities with an aim to develop a digital intervention to overcome any barriers...

Smoking is considered a chronic disease and is a public health issue. Support for smoking cessation is well defined within healthcare establishments. Nurses and other paramedical professionals must also make their contribution, whatever their practice. At the University Hospital of Caen Normandie, the renal transplant nurse coordinator in the nephrology-dialysis-transplantation department, who holds a university diploma, works with patients with chronic kidney disease, alongside the nurse tobaccologist in the tobacco coordination unit...