Safety and Efficacy of Tandem Hemodialysis and Selective Plasma Exchange in Pretransplant Desensitization of ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplantation.

Introduction: In patients requiring both hemodialysis (HD) and apheresis, the 2 treatments can be performed simultaneously. At our hospital, selective plasma exchange (SePE) is often performed along with HD for removal of isoagglutinins before ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation. The 2 treatments can be completed within the HD schedule, which allows the treatment time to be shortened.

Effect of long-term rigid gas-permeable contact lens wear on keratoconus progression.

Background/aims: To investigate the chronological corneal changes associated with long-term rigid gas-permeable contact lens (RGP-CL) wear in patients with keratoconus (KC).

Methods: Clinical records of 405 patients with KC or with KC suspect were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with mild-to-moderate KC and uneventful follow-up were classified into the CL (RGP-CL wear) and non-CL (without CL wear) groups.

Prediction model for cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality in incident dialysis patients.

Some variables including age, comorbidity of diabetes, and so on at dialysis initiation are associated with patient prognosis. Cardiovascular (CV) events are a major cause of death, and adequate models that predict prognosis in dialysis patients are warranted. Therefore, we created models using some variables at dialysis initiation.