Renal survival and treatment of adult patients with Primary Focal Segmental glomerulosclerosis: A historical cohort study of the National Greek Registry.

Background/objective: Primary Focal and Segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is one of the most common causes of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Our aim was to describe a large cohort of patients with primary FSGS, identify risk factors associated with worse renal survival and assess the impact of different immunosuppressive regiments on renal survival.

Methods: This was a historical cohort study of adults who were diagnosed with primary FSGS from March 26, 1982, to September 16, 2020.

Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Is Affected by Serum Magnesium and Diet Pattern in a Cohort of Dialysis Patients.

Hypomagnesaemia is associated with an increased overall mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis (CKD-5D). Mediterranean-style diet (MD), having a high magnesium content, can serve as a form of dietary magnesium supplementation. We examined whether there is a potential link between increased Mediterranean Diet score (MDS) and elevated serum magnesium (sMg) to assess its impact on reducing mortality risk in CKD-5D patients.

Immune responses of patients on maintenance hemodialysis after infection by SARS-CoV-2: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Immune dysregulation in patients with acute COVID-19 under chronic hemodialysis (CHD) is fully not elucidated. The changes of mononuclear counts and mediators before and after HD and associations with final outcome were studied.

Method: In this prospective study, hospitalized patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 under CHD and matched comparators under HD were analyzed for their absolute counts of lymphoid cells and circulating inflammatory mediators.

Redefying the therapeutic strategies against cardiorenal morbidity and mortality: Patient phenotypes.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients face an unacceptably high morbidity and mortality, mainly from cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia are highly prevalent in CKD patients. Established therapeutic protocols for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, and dyslipidemia are not as effective in CKD patients as in the general population.

Lower serum magnesium is a predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients on dialysis.

Purpose: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) represents one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients. Low serum magnesium Mg is related with increased mortality in general and dialysis population. Aim of our study was to evaluate the association of Mg with LVH and cardiac geometry in dialysis patients.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with a More Favorable Left Ventricular Geometry in Patients with End-Stage Kidney Disease.

Introduction. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (MD) on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and cardiac geometry in chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis (CKD-5D), given the high prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity in this population. Methods.

COVID-19 presenting with persistent hiccup and myocardial infarction in a peritoneal dialysis patient: A case report.

Background: Persistent hiccups, lasting more than 48 h, have been described as an atypical presentation of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) in the general population. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of persistent hiccups and non-ST elevation myocardial injury (NSTEMI) as an atypical presentation of COVID-19 in a peritoneal dialysis (PD) patient.

Case Summary: A 70-year old man, who had been on PD for 3 years with a history of ischemic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction, presented for a scheduled radionuclide myocardial scan.

Calciphylaxis: A Long Road to Cure with a Multidisciplinary and Multimodal Approach.

Calciphylaxis is a rare yet potentially fatal condition, resulting from ectopic calcification of the small arterioles of the dermis with resulting necrotic lesions infection, sepsis, and death. In hemodialysis patients, its prevalence ranges between 1 and 4%, while mortality amounts to 30-80%. We present in here a 45-year-old female on chronic dialysis with morbid obesity, who was admitted for painful nodules in the lower abdomen and necrotic lesions at the lower extremities.

Clinical presentation and outcomes of chronic dialysis patients with COVID-19: A single center experience from Greece.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a menacing pandemic, especially in vulnerable patients. Morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients are considered worse than those in the general population, but vary across continents and countries in Europe.

Aim: To describe the clinical course and outcomes of hospitalized MHD patients with COVID-19 in a retrospective observational single center study in Greece.

Validation of the International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool in the Greek Registry of IgA Nephropathy.

Background: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is among the commonest glomerulonephritides in Greece and an important cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) with an insidious chronic course. Thus, the recently published International IgAN prediction tool could potentially provide valuable risk stratification and guide the appropriate treatment module. This study aimed to externally validate this prediction tool using a patient cohort from the IgAN registry of the Greek Society of Nephrology.

Case Report of Cardiorenal Syndrome with Ascites and Listeria monocytogenes Peritonitis: The Role of Large-Volume Paracentesis and Albumin Replacement.

BACKGROUND Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a common infection in hospitalized patients with ascites, particularly in patients with cirrhosis. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is often associated with acute kidney injury. The causative agents of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis are usually gram-negative bacteria, but lately, the prevalence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis caused by gram-positive bacteria is rising.

Siblings with coronavirus disease 2019 infection and opposite outcome-the hemodialysis's better outcome paradox: Two case reports.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus and has a unique underlying pathogenesis. Hemodialysis (HD) patients experience high risk of contamination with COVID-19 and are considered to have higher mortality rates than the general population by most but not all clinical series. We aim to highlight the peculiarities in the immune state of HD patients, who seem to have both immune-activation and immune-depression affecting their outcome in COVID-19 infection.

Emperor's syndrome in the COVID-19 era: Time for patient-centered nephrology?

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a wake-up call in which has forced us to react worldwide. Health policies and practices have attracted particular attention in terms of human and financial cost. Before COVID-19, chronic kidney disease was already considered a risk multiplier in patients with diabetes and hypertension, the two now being the major risk factors for COVID-19 infection and adverse outcome.

Impact of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers on Acute Kidney Injury in Emergency Medical Admissions.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been observed in up to 20% of adult hospital admissions. Sepsis, diarrhea and heart failure, all causing reduced effective volume, are considered risk factors for AKI, especially among patients treated with medications that block the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS), such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). We aimed to determine the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in emergency medical admissions in relation to the use and dosage of ACEi/ARB.

Competing Effects of Renin Angiotensin System Blockade and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors on Erythropoietin Secretion in Diabetes.

Background: Anaemia is a common finding in diabetes, particularly in those patients with albuminuria or renal dysfunction and is associated with impaired erythropoietin (EPO) secretion. This review focuses on mechanisms involved in the regulation of erythropoiesis in diabetic patients in an effort to elucidate the competing effects of the renin angiotensin system (RAS) blockade and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on haemoglobin concentration and hematocrit values.

Summary: The RAS shows significant activation in diabetic subjects.

Anemia due to coadministration of renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors and PPARγ agonists in uncomplicated diabetic patients.

Therapy with either angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB) or thiazolidinediones (TZD) is associated with dose-dependent decrements in hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. We aimed to investigate the impact of the coadministration of TZD and ACEI/ARB on hematocrit and hemoglobin values in uncomplicated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and normal serum creatinine.Data from patients with type 2 diabetes currently followed, were reviewed and patients treated with ACEI/ARB and/or TZD were identified.

Comparative in vitro study of different peritoneal dialysis solutions on cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Background/aims: Peritoneal dialysis solutions (PDS), new and conventional, do not yet have a clinical biocompatibility profile. We aimed at a comparative laboratory profile based on the effect of PDS on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cytokine release.

Method: PBMCs from 19 healthy volunteers were incubated at a concentration of 10(6)/ml in fresh PDS and control medium (RPMI 1640), and stimulated or not with 10 microg/ml Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide.

Chronic acid-base perturbations in hemodialysis patients treated with sevelamer hydrochloride: a two-year follow-up study.

Sevelamer hydrochloride (HCl) contains multiple amines that may cause a significant dietary acid load. To evaluate the impact of sevelamer on arterial blood gases, we followed two groups of stable hemodialysis patients for 24 months. The Sevelamer Group (n = 7) did not achieve the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) goals for phosporus and Ca x P product and was switched from a calcium-based to sevelamer-based regimen.

Combined treatment with low-dose pravastatin and fish oil in post-renal transplantation dislipidemia.

Background: The most common cause of post-transplant dyslipidemia is the use of corticosteroids and cyclosporin-A (CyA). The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors have emerged as the agents of first choice in the treatment of post-transplant hyperlipidemia in combination with low fat diet. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combined treatment with low-dose pravastatin and fish oil in post-renal transplantation dislipidemia.

The effectiveness of mupirocin preventing Staphylococcus aureus in catheter-related infections in peritoneal dialysis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mupirocin on Staphylococcus aureus with regard to peritoneal dialysis (PD)-catheter exit-site infections (ESI), tunnel infections (TI), and peritonitis episodes (PE). The study was performed on 42 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients (group I) treated from April 1998 to July 1999. These patients were instructed to apply mupirocin daily at the catheter exit site as part of their exit-site care.

Hypertension in chronic hemodialysis patients: current view on pathophysiology and treatment.

Background: Hypertension accounts for 65 - 85% of patients beginning dialysis, and dialysis alone controls hypertension in over 50% of patients.

Patient And Methods: We have surveyed the status of BP control in 113 hemodialysis patients, 66 men and 47 women, aged 59 +/- 13 years old, with a mean duration on hemodialysis 42 +/- 44 months. The following measurements were recorded: predialysis mean arterial pressure (pre-MAP), post-dialysis MAP (post-MAP), percentage of change in MAP, pre-dialysis weight, post-dialysis weight, fluid removed by ultrafiltration during each dialysis session, interdialytic weight gain and excess weight over the desirable dry weight.