Publications by authors named "Dijana Boric-Skaro"
Echocardiographic Indices in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease and Their Association with Hemodialysis-to-Hemodiafiltration Transfer: A Prospective Observational Study.
Medicina (Kaunas)
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on assessing cardiac function in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) since they have a high risk for cardiovascular issues and lack sufficient research on echocardiographic measures in this group.
- It involved 36 ESRD patients undergoing a transfer from hemodialysis to hemodiafiltration, comparing baseline and 3-month echocardiographic data using various metrics, including global work indices and longitudinal strain.
- Key findings showed significant differences in some echocardiographic parameters compared to general population standards, but most myocardial work and strain measures did not change significantly after the treatment transfer.
Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome is a rare disorder with an estimated annual incidence of about two cases per million in the adult population. It is caused by the overactivation of the alternative pathway of the complement system. The disease can be triggered by many factors, including pregnancy, viral diseases, and sepsis; approximately 30% of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome cases are caused by unknown processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Kidney transplant recipients (KTR) are a group of patients with heterogeneous risks for adverse outcomes with COVID-19, but risk stratification tools in this patient group are lacking.
Methods And Participants: This retrospective observational, hypothesis-generating study included 49 hospitalized adult KTR patients with COVID-19 at the University Hospital of Split (August 2020 to October 2021) and evaluated the performance of novel risk score CROW-65 (age, Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI] lactate dehydrogenase to white blood cell [LDH:WBC] ratio, and respiratory rate oxygenation [ROX index]). The primary outcome of the study was 30-day postdischarge all-cause mortality.
Aim: One of the main causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the world is IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Since kidney is a key player in vitamin D metabolism, we investigated the expression of renal vitamin D receptors (VDR) and metabolizing enzymes in IgA nephropathy patients (IgAN-P).
Methods: The sample included twelve IgAN-P who underwent ultrasound-guided renal biopsies and five controls who underwent nephrectomy due to clear renal carcinoma.
Adropin is a novel pleotropic peptide involved in energy homeostasis, with possible contribution to cardiovascular protection through production of nitric oxide and subsequent blood pressure regulation. Given that patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are related with high cardiovascular risk, hyperlipidemia, chronic low-grade inflammation, and malnutrition the aim of our study was to investigate serum adropin levels in HD patients to evaluate possible associations with nutritional status and other relevant clinical and laboratory parameters. The study included 70 patients on HD and 60 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCatestatin (CST) is a pleiotropic peptide involved in cardiovascular protection with its antihypertensive and angiogenic effects. Considering that patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are associated with higher cardiovascular risk, the aim of this study was to investigate plasma CST levels in HD patients, compare them to healthy controls and evaluate possible CST associations with advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and laboratory, anthropometric and clinical parameters. The study included 91 patients on HD and 70 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study examined the expression patterns of tissue markers SATB1 and PTEN in relation to various kidney diseases using 32 biopsy samples, including both proliferative and non-proliferative groups.
- Both markers were found in all kidney structures, showing particularly high expression in tubular epithelial cells and significant differences in expression levels when compared to healthy control samples.
- The findings suggest SATB1 and PTEN could serve as potential indicators of kidney disease progression and warrant further investigation for their role in kidney disease treatment.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to compare the clinical presentation and pathohistological diagnoses of renal diseases in children from the Croatian region of Dalmatia by analyzing data from renal biopsies.
- The research involved 54 out of 231 pediatric patients who underwent ultrasound-guided renal biopsy, examining biopsy samples from 2008 to 2017 and comparing them to data from 1995 to 2005.
- Key findings indicated that the most common conditions were IgA nephropathy and minimal change disease, with a noticeable increase in these diseases over time, while some other conditions, like mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis, showed a decline.