Coronary artery calcification scores in patients with chronic kidney disease prior to dialysis: reliability as a trial outcome measure.

Background: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Data on the reliability and validity of high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) in patients with CKD is lacking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-reviewer agreement and inter-scan reproducibility of CACS measurement with HRCT in a cohort of patients with CKD prior to dialysis, and to compare the change in CACS at 30 minutes to the change in CACS over 1 year.

Surveillance cultures of tunneled cuffed catheter exit sites in chronic hemodialysis patients are of no benefit.

Catheter-related infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study evaluated the utility of surveillance swab cultures (Ssc) of tunneled cuffed catheter (TCC) exit sites as a prediction and prevention strategy for infection. A 6-month prospective-controlled trial with 94 chronic HD patients with a TCC who received monthly Ssc and were stratified by dialysis day into topical therapy based on Ssc results (Group A) or no therapy (Group B).

Haemoglobin at time of referral prior to dialysis predicts survival: an association of haemoglobin with long-term outcomes.

Haemoglobin (Hgb) levels are known to be associated with numerous adverse outcomes in both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and non-CKD patients. This analysis evaluates the association of baseline haemoglobin levels on survival in CKD patients, who are followed by nephrologists, irrespective of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), prior to initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) and erythropoietin hormone replacement therapy. Analysis of data from the provincial database (PROMIS, Patient Registration and Outcome Management Information System) in British Columbia, Canada, was undertaken.