Frequent vascular access thrombosis in a patient with end stage kidney disease on hemodialysis.

Vascular access thrombosis (VAT) is common among patients receiving hemodialysis and leads to missed dialysis treatments, hospitalizations, catheter placement, and graft/fistula abandonment. This article reviews the association between hypercoagulability and VAT and the high prevalence of hypercoagulable states in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). This article reviews the role of antithrombotic and anticoagulant medications in preventing VAT.

Teaching Conservative Kidney Management and Other Palliative Care Skills in Nephrology Fellowships.

Offering and providing effective conservative kidney management (CKM) for patients with end-stage kidney disease who do not want dialysis is a foundational skill that all nephrology fellows should learn during fellowship training. However, the current educational landscape in fellowship training programs is sparse and is not recognized currently as a skill within the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) guidelines. Moreover, there is no standardized curriculum, methods of assessment of this learning objective, and no structure for implementation within general and subspecialty nephrology training programs.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with severe respiratory failure from COVID-19.

Purpose: Limited data are available on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: We examined the clinical features and outcomes of 190 patients treated with ECMO within 14 days of ICU admission, using data from a multicenter cohort study of 5122 critically ill adults with COVID-19 admitted to 68 hospitals across the United States. To estimate the effect of ECMO on mortality, we emulated a target trial of ECMO receipt versus no ECMO receipt within 7 days of ICU admission among mechanically ventilated patients with severe hypoxemia (PaO/FiO < 100).

Thrombosis, Bleeding, and the Observational Effect of Early Therapeutic Anticoagulation on Survival in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Background: Hypercoagulability may be a key mechanism of death in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and major bleeding in critically ill patients with COVID-19 and examine the observational effect of early therapeutic anticoagulation on survival.

Design: In a multicenter cohort study of 3239 critically ill adults with COVID-19, the incidence of VTE and major bleeding within 14 days after intensive care unit (ICU) admission was evaluated.

Association Between Early Treatment With Tocilizumab and Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Importance: Therapies that improve survival in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are needed. Tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody against the interleukin 6 receptor, may counteract the inflammatory cytokine release syndrome in patients with severe COVID-19 illness.

Objective: To test whether tocilizumab decreases mortality in this population.

AKI Treated with Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19.

Background: AKI is a common sequela of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, few studies have focused on AKI treated with RRT (AKI-RRT).

Methods: We conducted a multicenter cohort study of 3099 critically ill adults with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) at 67 hospitals across the United States.

Risks and Options With Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents in Patients With CKD: A Review.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) improve the diagnostic capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging. Although initially believed to be without major adverse effects, GBCA use in patients with severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) was demonstrated to cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF). Restrictive policies of GBCA use in CKD and selective use of GBCAs that bind free gadolinium more strongly have resulted in the virtual elimination of NSF cases.

Use of Dietary Supplements in Living Kidney Donors: A Critical Review.

Dietary supplement use is high among US adults, with the intention by users to promote overall health and wellness. Kidney donors, who are selected based on their overall good health and wellness, can have high utilization rates of dietary supplements. We provide a framework for the evaluation of living kidney donors and use of dietary supplements.

Preoperative Risk Assessment and Management in Adults Receiving Maintenance Dialysis and Those With Earlier Stages of CKD.

With an increasingly aging population and improved mortality in individuals with end-stage kidney disease, more surgeries are being performed on patients with all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This high-risk population carries unique risk factors that have been associated with increased adverse perioperative outcomes, including acute kidney injury, cardiovascular events, and mortality. In this article, we review the literature describing absolute risks associated with common surgeries performed in patients with CKD and patients receiving maintenance dialysis.

The Controversy of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy With Intravenous Contrast: What Is the Risk?

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has long been observed in both experimental and clinical studies. However, recent observational studies have questioned the prevalence and severity of CIN following intravenous contrast exposure. Initial studies of acute kidney injury following intravenous contrast were limited by the absence of control groups or contained control groups that did not adjust for additional acute kidney injury risk factors, including prevalent chronic kidney disease, as well as accepted prophylactic strategies.

Oral nutritional supplements and 30-day readmission rate in hypoalbuminemic maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Introduction: Hemodialysis (HD) patients are hospitalized nearly twice yearly, and 35% of these patients are rehospitalized within 30-days postdischarge. We hypothesized that monitored oral nutritional supplementation (ONS) during HD treatment may decrease readmissions.

Methods: A cohort of maintenance HD patients, treated at a large dialysis organization, who were hospitalized with a postdischarge albumin of ≤3.

Ten Tips Nephrologists Wish the Palliative Care Team Knew About Caring for Patients with Kidney Disease.

Many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease have unmet palliative care (PC) needs. Physical and emotional symptoms are common. Some, like uremia and fluid overload, improve with dialysis, but the increasing age of patients initiating renal replacement therapy leaves many untreatable comorbidities like dementia and frailty to negatively impact quality of life.

Use of Radiocontrast Agents in CKD and ESRD.

Contrast exposure in a population with chronic kidney disease (CKD) requires additional consideration given the risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after exposure to iodinated contrast as well as systemic injury with exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA). Strategies to avoid CIN, and manage patients after exposure, including extracorporeal removal of contrast media, may differ among an advanced CKD population as compared to a general population. There is strong evidence to support the use of isotonic volume expansion and the lowest dose of low-osmolar or iso-osmolar contrast media possible to decrease CIN.

Urine Potassium Excretion, Kidney Failure, and Mortality in CKD.

Background: Low urine potassium excretion, as a surrogate for dietary potassium intake, is associated with higher risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease in a general population. Few studies have investigated the relationship of urine potassium with clinical outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study.