Extracorporeal blood purification therapies for sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in critically ill patients: expert opinion from the SIAARTI-SIN joint commission.

Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury is a life-threatening condition leading to high morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Over the past decades, several extracorporeal blood purification therapies have been developed for both sepsis and sepsis-associated acute kidney injury management. Despite the widespread use of extracorporeal blood purification therapies in clinical practice, it is still unclear when to start this kind of treatment and how to define its efficacy.

Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) in critically ill patients undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT): expert opinion from the SIAARTI-SIN joint commission.

Renal replacement therapies (RRT) are essential to support critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI), providing control of solutes, fluid balance and acid-base status. To maintain the patency of the extracorporeal circuit, minimizing downtime periods and blood losses due to filter clotting, an effective anticoagulation strategy is required.Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) has been introduced in clinical practice for continuous RRT (CRRT) in the early 1990s and has had a progressively wider acceptance in parallel to the development of simplified systems and safe protocols.

[Dialysis withdrawal and shared end-of-life management between nephrology and palliative care: our three-year experience].

Most dialysis patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) lack access to palliative care services. According to the data of the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Study (DOPPS), Italy when compared to other countries included in the study, had the lowest rates of dialysis discontinuation. Indeed, there is a growing interest in the implementation of international and national programs for the co-management between nephrology and palliative care in end-of-life decision-making for patients with ESKD.

Management of Acute Kidney Injury and Extracorporeal Blood Purification Therapies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Italian SIN-SIAARTI Joint Survey (and Recommendations for Clinical Practice).

Background And Aim: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 remains challenging. A large number of hospitalized patients are at a high risk of developing AKI. For this reason, we conducted a nationwide survey to assess the incidence and management of AKI in critically ill patients affected by the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Neuroimaging findings in leukoencephalopathy with calcifications and cysts: case report and review of the literature.

Leukoencephalopathy with cerebral calcifications and cysts (LCC) is a neurological disorder characterized by the radiological triad of white matter abnormalities, intracranial calcifications and cystic lesions variable in size resulting from a diffuse cerebral microangiopathy. Typically, progressive focal neurological deficits and seizures are the first clinical manifestation, but the severity of symptoms can vary according to the size and location of the cystic lesions holding compressive effects on the surrounding brain tissue. The most common histopathological finding is diffuse microangiopathy, which might be associated to pathogenic mutations in SNORD118 gene causing Labrune syndrome.

[Vascular access survey in the Triveneto area: data analysis for the year 2017].

In 2017 the Italian Society of Nephrology operating in the Triveneto area investigated through a questionnaire, distributed to the various nephrological centers in the regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto, the differences concerning organizational models, choice of dialysis, creation and management of vascular access. The results emerging from the analysis of the collected data are presented.

[The effect of intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN) on the amino acid pool, a kinetic study].

Background: Malnutrition in dialysis patients could be offset by intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN), provided it is possible to demonstrate that this technique improves the aminoacid (AA) pool, despite clearance during dialysis.

Methods: A kinetic study was conducted in 10 malnourished patients, undergoing thrice- weekly low-flux HD, 240 mins/session (Bologna Malpighi and Trento Hospitals, Italy). After an HD session without IDPN (baseline), the patients received an IDPN solution with 16 AAs (all-in-one bag,NutriSpecialipid: 625 ml, Prot 35.

Association between extracellular water, left ventricular mass and hypertension in haemodialysis patients.

Background: Hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) are present in the majority of patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD). These two pathologies persist after dialysis onset, and pharmacological therapy is often required for adequate control of blood pressure (BP). Although fluid overload is a determinant of hypertension, clinical assessment of this parameter remains difficult and unsatisfactory.

[Application of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus from humans and domestic animals].

Background: The aim of the research was to isolate and to identify the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from cattle and human and to determine their genetic relatedness comparing the DNA restriction patterns.

Methods: Strains of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from animals (223 strains) and humans (83). The E-test was applied to determine methicillin-resistance.