Publications by authors named "Darshika Chhabra"

A woman in her 30s presented to the emergency department with acute onset, progressively worsening left-sided abdominal pain after exercise. She was found to be hypotensive and diaphoretic, with free intraperitoneal fluid detected on bedside point-of-care ultrasound. Resuscitation was initiated, a presumptive diagnosis of ruptured ectopic pregnancy was made, and obstetrics and gynaecology were consulted.

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Combined heart-kidney transplantation (CHKT) is a therapy for a carefully selected subgroup of patients with concomitant heart and kidney failure. Discerning whether there is reversible or irreversible kidney disease is crucial to selection for CHKT versus heart transplant alone to optimize therapeutic value and organ allocation. Methods for determining extent of kidney disease include estimating glomerular filtration rate, creatinine clearance, kidney ultrasonography, and kidney biopsy.

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We present a case of de novo minimal change disease occurring more than 1 year after transplant in a combined heart-kidney transplant recipient. A 68-year-old white man with past medical history of nonischemic cardiomyopathy with left-ventricular assist device and end-stage renal disease due to type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiorenal syndrome underwent a combined heart-kidney transplant in a sequential manner in August 2016. He was induced with rabbit antithymocyte globulin and methylprednisolone; he was maintained on mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus, and a protocolized tapering dose of prednisone.

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Tacrolimus and sirolimus are commonly used maintenance immunosuppressants in kidney transplantation. As their effects on immune cells and allograft molecular profiles have not been elucidated, we characterized the effects of tacrolimus to sirolimus conversion on the frequency and function of T cells, and on graft molecular profiles. Samples from renal transplant patients in a randomized trial of 18 patients with late sirolimus conversion and 12 on tacrolimus maintenance were utilized.

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Background And Objectives: The optimal maintenance immunosuppressive regimen to improve long-term renal allograft function and graft survival is yet to be determined.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: This observational study prospectively compared tacrolimus/sirolimus with tacrolimus/mycophenolate mofetil in renal transplant recipients using a prednisone-free regimen with over 8.5 years of follow-up.

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Immunotactoid glomerulopathy (IGN) is a rare immunoglobulin deposition disease. It is often mistaken for cryoglobulinemia or amyloidosis due to the similarities on biopsy findings. The disease progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) within 7 months to 10 years.

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Background: One of the most important causes of graft loss is chronic nephrotoxicity from calcineurin inhibitors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and to assess the impact on rejection risk, graft loss and renal allograft function of converting patients from tacrolimus (Tac) to sirolimus (SRL) at one yr post-transplantation (Tx) using a prednisone-free immunosuppressive regimen.

Methods: Two hundred fifty-five kidney transplant patients were induced with Alemtuzumab and maintained on a steroid-free regimen with Tac and mycophenolate mofetil.

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Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a prodrug of mycophenolic acid (MPA), is an inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH). It preferentially inhibits denovo pathway of guanosine nucleotide synthesis in T and B-lymphocytes and prevents their proliferation, thereby suppresses both cell mediated and humoral immune responses. Clinical trials in kidney transplant recipients have shown the efficacy of MMF in reducing the incidence and severity of acute rejection episodes.

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Peritoneal dialysis is a home dialysis therapy in which a fluid known as dialysate is placed into the patient's peritoneal cavity. The standard dialysate consists of a concentrated dextrose solution. Icodextrin is a glucose polymer that can be substituted for dextrose with avoidance of some of the glucose-dependant effects.

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Background And Objectives: The impact of posttransplantation anemia on patient survival, renal allograft survival, and rate of acute rejection is not known.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: A total of 1023 patients who underwent kidney transplantation at one center from January 1992 through June 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. Posttransplantation anemia was defined as mean hemoglobin <11 g/dl after 3 mo after transplantation.

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Background: It is not known how different steroid-free immunosuppressive combinations affect long-term kidney transplant function in recipients of simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant (SPK). Here, we sought to evaluate, in SPK recipients, the impact on long-term renal allograft function of two Tac-based prednisone-free maintenance immunosuppressive protocols: tacrolimus (Tac)/mycophonelate mofetil (MMF) versus Tac/ sirolimus (SRL).

Methods: In this single-center, retrospective, sequential study, we analyzed 59 SPK transplant patients with at median follow up of 5 years.

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